How to Play Nine Wicket Croquet

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

Nine Wicket Croquet is the classic garden version of croquet played across a double-diamond court set with nine wire hoops and two stakes. It accommodates two to six players, runs as singles or doubles, and needs no more than a flat lawn, a set of mallets, and an afternoon. It is the format most families encounter first and the one most garden croquet sets are designed for.

Its appeal is straightforward: the rules are simple enough to explain in five minutes yet the tactics reward genuine thought. Young children can join adults on level terms because a well-judged shot can undo any opponent's progress, and the generous court size means every member of the family has room to play without getting in each other's way.

A little history

Croquet arrived in Britain during the 1850s and spread rapidly across middle-class gardens and country houses, with the first written rules appearing in the early 1860s. The nine-wicket double-diamond layout became the dominant garden form in North America and has remained popular worldwide, though its exact divergence from the six-hoop Association Croquet layout played in Britain is not precisely documented. Its origins as a distinct codified format are unclear, but it is traditionally regarded as the most accessible entry point to croquet for recreational players.

Setting up

1. Lay out the court on a flat lawn, ideally 30 by 20 yards, though smaller lawns may be used.
2. Drive the starting and finishing stake into the centre of each short end of the court.
3. Set the nine wickets in the double-diamond pattern: one wicket in front of each stake, four wickets forming the outer diamond, two wickets forming the centre crossing, and the final wicket (the rover wicket) just in front of the finishing stake.
4. Confirm the correct sequence: play begins at the starting stake, goes through the outer wickets in order, crosses through the centre wickets, turns at the far stake, returns through the outer and centre wickets in the reverse sequence, and finishes by striking the finishing stake.
5. For two players, each controls two balls. For three or four players, each controls one ball. For six players, form two sides of three and assign each player one ball.
6. Agree the order of play: blue and black play against red and yellow in the traditional pairing. In singles, one player takes blue and black, the other red and yellow.
7. Place all balls beside the starting stake before play begins.

How to play

1. Order of play is blue, red, black, yellow throughout the game. If a colour is not in use, that turn is simply skipped.
2. On your turn you are entitled to one stroke to start. Strike your ball cleanly with the face of the mallet head only.
3. If your ball passes through the next wicket in the correct sequence during a stroke, you score that wicket and earn one bonus stroke. Passing through two wickets in one shot earns two bonus strokes, taken consecutively.
4. If your ball strikes another ball (a roquet) you earn two bonus strokes. Place your ball immediately next to the roqueted ball and take a croquet stroke: holding your foot on your own ball is not required under standard garden rules, though many groups allow it. Strike your ball so both balls move. The second bonus stroke is then a free continuation shot.
5. You may roquet each other ball once per turn. Your eligibility to roquet a ball resets each time you score a new wicket.
6. A ball that passes through a wicket out of sequence scores nothing for that wicket. It must be replayed through in the correct direction and order on a future turn.
7. If your ball goes out of bounds, place it one mallet-head length inside the boundary at the point where it crossed and continue your turn if you have strokes remaining, otherwise your turn ends.
8. Continue taking bonus strokes, roqueting, and scoring wickets for as long as you are entitled to strokes. When you have no strokes remaining, your turn ends and the next colour plays.
9. After scoring all nine wickets in sequence, your ball becomes a rover ball. A rover ball may roquet any ball on the court once per turn regardless of wicket progression, and earns bonus strokes as normal.
10. To finish, your rover ball must strike the finishing stake. You may do this yourself in a stroke or send another ball into it via a croquet shot.

Winning and scoring

In singles, the first player to send both their balls through all nine wickets in sequence and then strike the finishing stake with both balls wins. In doubles, the first side to do the same with all four of their balls wins. In a timed game, the side whose balls have collectively scored the most wicket points when time is called wins, with each wicket counting as one point and the finishing stake as one point.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns whether a ball has genuinely passed through a wicket. The ruling is clear: the ball must pass completely through the hoop in the correct direction. A ball that stops within the jaws, even if it entered correctly, has not scored and must exit the other side on a later stroke. A ball that clips the upright but does not pass through scores nothing. If in doubt, use a straight edge placed across the approach side of the wicket: if the ball can still touch the edge, it has not cleared.

A second frequent argument involves the roquet sequence after scoring a wicket. Once you score a wicket, your roquet rights reset, meaning you may immediately roquet a ball you already roqueted earlier in the same turn. Many players forget this and incorrectly deny themselves a legal roquet. Equally, players sometimes take a croquet stroke without both balls actually moving: if the partner ball does not move perceptibly, the croquet stroke must be replayed. Deliberate foot-on-ball play should be agreed before the game starts, as it is a variation and not universal in garden rules.

How to win more often

• Plan your route through the wickets to keep your two balls close together so they can roquet each other and extend your turn when a wicket is not immediately in reach.
• Use croquet strokes aggressively to send opponent balls to inconvenient corners of the lawn rather than simply moving them a short distance.
• Prioritise scoring your own wickets over attacking opponents early in the game: position and progress matter more than disruption until the later stages.
• When you become a rover ball, use your unlimited roquet privilege to escort a partner ball that is still completing its sequence, pushing it into position with croquet shots.
• Leave your own balls close to upcoming wickets at the end of your turn so your next turn can immediately score and gain bonus strokes rather than spending a stroke in transit.

Variations

Poison Ball

Once a ball has completed the full course and struck the finishing stake it becomes a poison ball rather than being retired. A poison ball may strike any opponent ball to eliminate it from the game entirely, but if a poison ball passes through any wicket or is struck by a non-poison ball, the poison ball itself is eliminated. This variant significantly sharpens the endgame and is common in garden play.

Two-Ball Singles

Each of the two players uses only one ball rather than two, reducing the game considerably in length and making it suitable for a quick match or a smaller lawn. All other rules apply unchanged. This is a sensible choice when time is short or when younger children are playing against each other.

Timed Game

An agreed time limit, typically 45 or 60 minutes, is set at the start. When time is called, the current player finishes their turn and the game ends. Each wicket scored counts as one point and the finishing stake counts as one point. The player or side with the highest total wins. This format is useful when daylight or schedule is limited and prevents games from running indefinitely.

Team Scramble

For six players in two teams of three, all three balls on each side are played consecutively (blue, then black, then an agreed third colour for that side) before the opposing side plays. Any ball may roquet or assist a team-mate's ball freely with no restriction, making co-operative croquet shots across a team's own balls a central tactic. This variant rewards communication and shared planning more than the standard alternating format.

Nine Wicket Croquet: frequently asked questions