Croquet+Rules

=**The Court**= A backyard croquet court doesn't have to be perfect. But, short grass provides the best playing surface. A full size court is 100 feet long by 50 feet wide. Use string or chalk to mark definite boundaries. =The Wickets and Stakes= You will need nine wickets and stakes to play. It is recamended that you set the wickets up so that they are in a dimond pattern.(You do not need to set them up like this. You could set them up anyway you want, just as long as you are able to hit a ball through them in some sort of order.) =The Balls= If you are playing with four people you will need four balls. The balls that are normaly used are red, blue, yellow and black. If you are going to split up on to teams the red and yellow balls play as a team and the blue and black balls play as a team. If there isn't going to be teams then anyone can be any color. =**The Mallets**= Every player will need a mallet to hit the ball. Not every player needs their own mallet; you can share. The only way of striking the ball with the mallet is to strike it with the face of the mallet. If desided befor the game you can strike the ball with the side of the mallet also.

=Objective of the game= "The objective of the game is to advance the balls through the course by hitting them with a mallet".("United") You get a point for each wicket and stake made in the correct order and direction. The winner is the first side to score 14 wicket points and 2 stake points for each of its balls. The players take turns, and only one plays at a time. At the beginning of a turn the player has one shot, unless a bonus shot is earned by scoring a wicket or stake or by hitting another ball, the players turn is over. The turn end when the player has no more bonus shots. The striker may only hit his/her own ball with their mallet.

Scoring Wicket and Stake Points
Each ball can score wicket and stake points for their side. Going through a wicket out of order or in the wrong direction is not counted as a point gained or lost. A ball caused to sc- ore its wicket or stake during another ball's turn earns a point for its side.(No bonus shot is scored because it is not the players turn.) A ball scores a wicket point only if it comes to a stop clear of the playing side of the wicket. If a ball passes through the wicket but rolls back, it has not scored the wicket. An easy way to tell if it has passed through is to run the side of the mallet head down the plane of the playing side of the wicket. If the mallet touches the ball on the way down it has not cleared the wicket, there for no point is earned. If the mallet doesn't touch the ball, it has cleared the wicket!

=Other types of croquet games=
 * Six Wicket Croquet
 * American Croquet
 * International Croquet
 * Golf Croquet