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 States Croquet Association. Its genesis is mostly in association croquet, but it differs in a number of important ways that reflect the home-grown traditions of American "backyard" croquet. Two of the most notable differences are that the balls are always played in the same sequence (blue, red, black, yellow) throughout the game, and that a ball's "deadness" on other balls is carried over from turn to turn until the ball has been "cleared" by scoring its next hoop. A Deadness Board is used to keep track of deadness on all four balls. Tactics are simplified on the one hand by