Fairview Farm Croquet

Rules of the Game

FVF Croquet is played with four balls; blue & black versus red and yellow, on a “court” containing 6 hoops and a centre peg.

The game proceeds clockwise once around the course up to the time limit of 1 hour maximum.

Each player in doubles plays a particular coloured ball throughout the game.

Each ball must go through each hoop in order and direction and then (once the other ball has also gone through all the hoops) hitting the peg. A ball that has run all the hoops is called a “rover”.

The side which first completes the course with both balls or at the time limit has the most points, wins. A point is scored for running a hoop and for pegging out, giving a maximum of 14 points per team. When time is up, the person in play finishes the turn and then the opponent has the last turn.

A ball runs a hoop when it passes completely through the hoop (i.e. no part of the ball is visible on the playing side of the hoop) in its correct order.

The point is scored whether the ball was struck by the mallet or by another ball.

Clips coloured to match the balls are placed on the hoops to indicate the next hoop for each ball.

The teams take alternate turns. In the first four turns each ball is played from the starting line at the top edge of the court in the order: blue, red, black, yellow.

Once the four balls are on the court a side chooses which of its two balls it shall play in each turn, as long as the appropriate player plays his or her coloured ball.

A turn consists initially of one stroke only, but extra strokes can be earned in two ways:

1. If the player's ball runs its next hoop, they are entitled to another stroke;

2. After running the first hoop, if the player's ball hits another ball which has also run the first hoop (makes a roquet), he or she may pick up their own ball and place it in contact with that other ball where it comes to rest and then strike their own ball so that the other ball moves (takes croquet). YOU MAY NOT TOUCH OR PUT YOUR FOOT ON YOUR OPPONENT’S BALLS. After this the player is entitled to one further (continuation) stroke and can roquet another ball that has run the first hoop. Once a ball has run another hoop it may then roquet and take croquet from each of the other balls ONCE before running the next hoop. Thus, by a combination of taking croquet and running hoops, many hoops can be run in a turn (making a break).

At the end of each stroke, any ball that is off the lawn is immediately replaced one yard inside the boundary at right angles to the point where it went off.  If any ball is sent off the lawn on a croquet stroke, that turn ends, otherwise play continues until a player has made all the strokes to which he is entitled or makes an infringement. After an infringement the umpire may reposition balls. The umpire’s decision is final.

When both of the team’s balls have scored the last hoop point (become a rover) each can score a peg point, either by the player hitting it onto the peg or by being hit onto the peg by another rover ball. The player is thus “pegged out” and removed from court.

Several of the rules are commonly misinterpreted; please note:

1)     You cannot roquet balls before they have been through the first hoop.

2)     The balls need not be played in colour order.

3)     You cannot place your foot on a ball during the croquet stroke.

4)     You may only use the faces of the mallet to hit the ball.

5)     You go through the final hoop in the direction away from the peg.

6)     Only when both balls of a team have been through all six hoops (rover balls) may one of them be pegged out.

7)     A rover ball may not be pegged out by a ball that is not a rover.

8)     In the croquet stroke, the ball that has been roqueted must move or shake.

9)     You may not touch any part of the mallet head during a stroke.