Croquet and is the game most recreational players in those countries call simply "croquet". In this version of croquet there are nine wickets, two stakes, and up to six balls. The course is arranged in a double-diamond pattern, with one stake at each end of the course. Players start at one stake, navigate one side of the double diamond, hit the turning stake, then navigate the opposite side of the double diamond and hit the starting stake to end. If playing individually ("Cutthroat"), the first player to stake out is the winner. In partnership play, all members of a team must
Croquet with national individual participation amounting to a few thousand players. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club still has a croquet lawn, but has not hosted any significant tournaments. The English headquarters for the game is now in Cheltenham. The earliest known reference to croquet in Scotland is the booklet "The Game of Croquet, its Laws and Regulations" which was published in the mid-1860s for the proprietor of Eglinton Castle, the Earl of Eglinton. On the page facing the title page is a picture of Eglinton Castle with a game of "croquet" in full swing. The croquet lawn existed