Edition: Backyard croquet for families with mallets, balls, wickets and two stakes, usually set up in the nine-wicket layout found in most American sets. Last checked October 25, 2026
Croquet Rules: How to Play Backyard Croquet
Croquet is the lawn game where you hit your ball with a mallet through the wickets, out to the turning stake and back home again. Along the way you can send other players' balls flying. Here are the rules for backyard croquet and answers to the questions that cause the most arguments.
- Players
- 2 to 6
- Age
- 6 and up
- Playing time
- 30 to 60 minutes
How to win: Be the first to get your ball through every wicket in the right order, hit the turning stake, come back home and hit the starting stake.
Who is right?
The classic arguments at the table when you play Croquet.
Can you hold your foot on your own ball for the croquet shot?
It depends.
Both ways are common. In many backyard sets you hold your foot on your own ball, so only the other ball flies away. In tournament croquet you may not use your foot, and both balls move.
Many families allow the foot, because sending the others far across the lawn is the most fun.
Can you stack up bonus strokes?
No.
Bonus strokes must be used right away. If you hit a ball with a bonus stroke earned from a wicket, the new bonus strokes replace the old one, they do not add to it.
Some let kids keep every bonus stroke they have earned.
Does a wicket count if the ball goes through the wrong way?
No.
A wicket only counts when it is cleared in the right order and direction. The ball must be all the way through the wicket, or it does not count.
With little kids, a wicket often counts as long as the ball made it through.
Can you hit the same ball several times in a row?
Not before your next wicket.
You may hit several different balls in the same turn, but not the same ball again until you have gone through a new wicket yourself.
Some say you may hit each ball only once per turn.
Can you stay on the course and bother the others after clearing every wicket?
It depends.
In basic backyard croquet you are done when you hit the starting stake. Some rule sets let a player who has cleared every wicket wait to hit the stake and stay on the course as a rover who can knock other balls away.
A popular American variant is poison ball, where the player who has gone all the way around knocks others out of the game by hitting them.
What you need
- One mallet and one ball for each player
- Wickets, usually 9 in American sets
- A starting stake and a turning stake with colored stripes
- A lawn, ideally freshly mowed
Setup
- 1Put the starting stake at one end of the lawn and the turning stake at the other.
- 2Push the wickets into the ground following the diagram in your set, so the course goes out to the turning stake and back again.
- 3The colored stripes on the starting stake show the order of play. The top color goes first.
- 4Each player takes the mallet and ball of the same color.
How to play
- 1Place your ball near the starting stake and hit it toward the first wicket. Each turn is one stroke.
- 2If your ball goes through the correct wicket in the right direction, you earn a bonus stroke.
- 3If your ball hits another ball, you earn two bonus strokes, or a croquet shot plus one bonus stroke.
- 4You may not hit the same ball again until you have gone through another wicket.
- 5Keep going through the wickets in order out to the turning stake. In many sets, hitting it earns a bonus stroke.
- 6Then play through the wickets on the way home in the order the diagram shows.
- 7Once you have cleared every wicket, hit the starting stake. Then you are done.
- 8The first player to hit the starting stake wins. The others can keep playing for second place and beyond.
Bonus strokes
- Through a wicket: 1 bonus stroke.
- Through two wickets in one stroke: 2 bonus strokes.
- Hit another ball: 2 bonus strokes, or a croquet shot and 1 bonus stroke.
- Bonus strokes must be used right away and cannot be saved for later turns.
How to take a croquet shot
Place your ball right up against the ball you hit. Strike your own ball so the other ball goes flying, ideally far away from its next wicket. After that you get 1 bonus stroke.
House rules
Pick the rules you want to play with tonight. Everyone at the table has to agree.
Our Croquet rules for tonight
Everything else follows the official rules.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between backyard croquet and tournament croquet?
Backyard croquet uses simple rules, a flexible course and often allows the foot on the ball. Tournament croquet, like six-wicket croquet, has a set court size, more detailed rules and no foot shots.
How many wickets are there in croquet?
Most American backyard sets use 9 wickets in a double diamond layout, but sets differ. Follow the diagram in your box or design your own course.
Who goes first in croquet?
The order follows the colored stripes on the starting stake, from top to bottom.
Source: Rules from common backyard croquet sets and family tradition in the US and Denmark. Tournament croquet has different and more detailed rules. The rules are written in our own words. Ask the referee if you are unsure.