How to Play Pall Mall

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

Pall Mall is a traditional outdoor mallet-and-ball game played on a lawn, in which two to four players compete to navigate a ball through a sequence of hoops in a fixed order. It combines precision striking with tactical thinking, making it genuinely competitive for adults while remaining accessible enough for older children to enjoy alongside them.

The game is usually played on a level grass lawn, and a full course can be set out in almost any reasonably sized garden. Rounds move at a sociable pace, with plenty of opportunity to block opponents or gain extra turns through clean hoop runs. It is one of those games that rewards practice without ever being intimidating for a newcomer.

A little history

The origins of Pall Mall as a garden game are not fully clear in the historical record. A stick-and-ball game called paille-maille was played in France and Italy from at least the sixteenth century, and versions of the game were documented in England during the seventeenth century, lending their name to Pall Mall street in London, where a long alley for the game once stood. The modern lawn version played with hoops and a finishing peg is traditionally considered a forerunner of croquet, though the precise line of descent between the older alley game and today's garden format is debated among historians.

Setting up

1. Choose a flat, level area of lawn large enough to accommodate the full course without cramped hoop spacing.
2. Push the finishing peg firmly into the centre of the playing area so it stands upright and stable.
3. Set out the hoops in the agreed course pattern around the peg. A standard six-hoop layout places hoops at the corners and mid-points of an oval or rectangular course, each hoop facing the direction of play through it.
4. Agree the starting boundary line, usually one mallet-length from the first hoop.
5. Each player selects a coloured ball and the matching mallet.
6. Decide playing order. Traditionally this is settled by striking each ball from the start line toward the first hoop; the player whose ball finishes closest to the hoop plays first.

How to play

1. Players take turns in the agreed order. On your turn you are entitled to one stroke unless you earn extra strokes (see below).
2. Strike your ball with the mallet head. The mallet must be swung cleanly; deliberately pushing or scraping the ball is not permitted.
3. Your aim on each turn is to run the next hoop on your course, meaning to send your ball through the hoop in the correct direction. Hoops must be run in sequence; you cannot skip ahead.
4. If your ball passes cleanly through the correct hoop in the correct direction in a single stroke, you earn one extra stroke, which you play immediately from where your ball came to rest.
5. If in that extra stroke you run the next hoop as well, you earn another extra stroke, and so on. A player who runs multiple hoops in a single turn continues to play until a stroke earns no further bonus.
6. If your ball strikes another player's ball (a roquet), you earn one extra stroke. Play that extra stroke from where your ball stopped after the roquet. Each opponent's ball may only be roqueted once per turn unless you run a hoop in between, which resets your roquet rights.
7. After completing the last hoop in the sequence, you must strike the finishing peg to complete your game. This counts as running the final target; you earn no extra stroke for hitting the peg unless your particular variation's rules state otherwise.
8. If your ball goes out of bounds, place it one mallet-length in from the boundary at the point where it crossed the line, and your turn ends.
9. Play continues in rotation until one player completes the full hoop sequence and strikes the peg.

Winning and scoring

The first player to run every hoop in the correct order and then strike the finishing peg wins the game outright. In a longer session, players who finish may be declared in order of completion (first, second, third) rather than stopping play immediately, allowing everyone to complete their round if preferred. No point scoring is used in the standard game; it is a race to finish the course.

The fine points

The most common dispute involves whether a ball has genuinely passed through a hoop. The accepted ruling is that the ball must travel fully beyond the non-approach wire before it counts as a run; a ball that stops inside the jaws or rolls back does not score, and that stroke is simply lost. If a hoop is knocked out of the ground during play, replace it in its original position before continuing; the stroke that displaced it does not count as a run.

Roquet disputes arise when players disagree about which balls have already been roqueted in the current turn. It helps to keep a clear verbal note at the start of each turn of which opponents are still available to roquet. If a ball simultaneously runs a hoop and strikes another ball in the same stroke, most standard rulings award both the hoop continuation stroke and the roquet, giving the striker two extra strokes to use consecutively; confirm this interpretation before play begins if your group includes experienced players.

How to win more often

• Play your approach shots to leave your ball in position for the next hoop, not just to get through the current one. Angle matters as much as distance.
• Use roquets deliberately. Striking an opponent's ball near your target hoop can leave you in an ideal position for your continuation stroke while pushing their ball away from where they want it.
• Prioritise running hoops over roqueting. A clean hoop run resets your roquet rights and keeps your turn alive; chasing a roquet that costs you a good hoop angle is rarely worth it.
• When you are ahead, play conservatively through congested areas of the course. An ambitious long shot that leaves your ball out of position gives opponents a free turn to close the gap.
• Learn to judge your lawn. Pace, slope and grass length all affect how your ball rolls. Spend your first two or three turns gauging the surface before attempting difficult long-range shots.

Variations

Golf Pall Mall

Rather than a continuous race, each hoop is treated as a separate hole. Players each attempt to run the hoop in as few strokes as possible, recording their score. The player with the lowest total number of strokes across all hoops at the end of the course wins. This format suits smaller groups and works well when players of very different abilities want a more level contest.

Doubles

Two teams of two play together, with teammates using the same colour ball or agreed matching colours. Partners alternate shots rather than each playing their own ball, so communication about where to leave the ball for your partner becomes the central tactical element. The same hoop sequence and roquet rules apply; a player may roquet either opponent ball once per turn.

Shortened Course

For younger players or a quicker game, reduce the course to four hoops arranged in a simple oval with the peg at the centre. The rules remain identical but the game typically concludes in twenty minutes or less, making it well suited to mixed-age garden sessions where concentration spans vary.

Bisque Handicap

Stronger players allocate a number of bisques (free extra strokes, used at any point of the recipient's choosing) to weaker players at the start of the game. A player takes a bisque by announcing it before their next stroke. This is a traditional way to level the field when regular players of very different experience compete together, and it keeps the game competitive without changing the underlying rules.

Pall Mall: frequently asked questions