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Garden or Club Games
(A) Rules of Dynamite:
(B) Rules of Ricochet:
GALA
DAY GAMES:
(1) Best of Twenty: (2) Best Around the
Block: (3) Golf Croquet:
(4) The Tunnel:
(5) Round Robin
(6) Duck Shooting:
(7) Ranelagh:
(8) Spot & Hoop
(9) Eggs in Basket:
(10) Hooping & Poohing: (11) Split
Roll:
(12) Zig Zag:
(A) The Rules of Dynamite:
- Toss for
Colours or Start.
-
Games start from A Baulk nearest the Blue
topped Hoop.
-
Shoot to run No 1 Hoop.
-
Each Hoop correctly run benefits by one extra shot.
-
Each ball hit benefits by two extra shots.
-
Striker may only hit their chosen ball but that ball may hit other balls.
-
Clips show which Hoops the balls are up to.
- Each
game, initially, is six hoops and the peg.
(B)
The Rules of Ricochet:
(1) Players toss for turn or colours
(2) Players then take turns in
order of the peg. i.e. Blue, Red, Black then Yellow.
(3) Clips are used to indicate
the next Hoop.
(4) All the rules of Association
Croquet for single ball strokes apply.
(5) There are no Croquet strokes.
(6) When a Player Roquets another
ball he gains two further strokes and the first is from
where the
Striker's ball came to rest.
(7) The Striker can use the other
balls once only between Hoops in that turn.
CROQUET GALA DAY GAMES
or alternative games for a Bowling Green or Garden Lawn
Croquet is the usual name for that
game in which mallets hit balls through Hoops or Wickets.
Historically:
Croquet might be considered to
be the mother (sister or son) of Tennis, Table Tennis, Squash,
Golf, Hockey, Lacrosse and Cricket besides Snooker and Billiards. All of
which are grouped as "Stick and Ball" games.
Wimbledon was originally a Croquet
Club. "The All England Croquet Club" was created about 1860 at Wimbledon. An
off-shoot called Tennis became the flavour of the 19th Century with the
sporty type and took over the Club and changed its name to Tennis. It has
only been recently that the old Croquet name plate was rescued and replaced.
Now it is "The All England Tennis and Croquet Club".
The "Wimbledon Cup" originally for Croquet was renamed "Croquet World Cup"
(but Wimbledon still on the trophy) because of the confusion.
The Rules of both games - in fact most games - were gazetted by "John Jaques"
of London. JJ still is the biggest manufacturer of Sports Goods in the
World, having started in 1745 and the present CEO is - John Jaques..
Tennis begat table tennis,
squash and badminton etc etc etc.
Spin Offs:
Besides British Association Croquet, in which
six Hoops and a Peg are used, there is the similar US Association Six and
also a Nine Wicket and Two Stakes game with their spin off, US Roquet.
The Japanese have their Asian
Gateball of three Hoops (Gates), a Peg (Goal Pole) and ten balls.
A Level Playing Field:
Where ever there is a level
lawn or playing field someone will hit a ball with a stick. Someone will
make up the rules depending on the relative Technique, degree of Tactics and
team work required to have a lot of fun and exercise at a reasonable cost.
Frustrating Game:
Association Croquet is a very
competitive and seemingly frustrating game for those new to hitting a ball
with a stick. However, there are many less Tactical, derivative games which
are ideal for the young and not so young to train their eye and hand (arm)
coordination.
Cricket Anyone?
Anyone considering the sport
of Cricket, Squash or Golf would profit from the easy eye/hand exercises
performed.
Important Exercise:
The following games are
intended to ensure the most important exercise in all Stick and Ball games
-- keeping your eye on the ball - right where you are about to hit it with
your stick.
Unique?
Which means its a #@$%#* of a Game!
With Croquet - Garden, Social,
Club or Competitive - much enjoyment can be had, either alone or as part of
a team. Which makes this game somewhat unique.
Game No 1. The Best of Twenty:
Start:
Start the game with the six
Hoops for Croquet.
A player places his colour ball
within the No 1 Hoop (with the blue coloured bridge) and shoots for the No 2
Hoop. Continuing clockwise up the West side across to Hoop 3 and down the
East side to Hoop 4 - then up the centre for Hoops 5 and 6.
Turn Left:
At this point, on leaving Hoop
6, the player turns left or anticlockwise to reverse the Hoops. So, Hoop No
2 on the West now becomes No 1 "back" following on to 2 "back" then 3 and 4
Back. When eventually going South again through the centre, No 5 back is now
Penultimate (meaning second last) and the last Hoop, with the red bridge, is
Rover.
Count:
Count how many hoops are run
by the time the player has had twenty shots. A good score is nine (9) or ten
(10) Hoops.
Object of Game:
The object of this game is to
have fun. But in having fun, one learns to Stalk the ball onto the Target.
Take a Stance over the ball. Swing the mallet so to hit the ball right
on the spot you have both eyes. And keep the eyes there until the ball is
well and truly hit.
Eyes on the Ball:
A good Golfer or Cricketer
knows only to well the importance of keeping the eyes on the ball. Lifting
one's head is a sure way of lifting the shoulders, to which the arms are
usually attached. This results in disaster for a Croquet player or a Golfer.
(With a Golfer the next thing is
to find the (damaged) ball in the rough, so learning to keep one's eyes on
the ball in Croquet will benefit a Golfer to a greater degree)
Other Outcomes:
The other outcome is that the
player becomes familiar with the Hoops (numbers, colours and location) and
the general direction of play.
Warm Up:
This game can be played as a
warm up or as a competition between learners. If a ball goes out "you're
out". But measure one yard in from the boundary line - usually the length of
a mallet - and continue next turn without loss of stroke etc
Game
No 2 Best around the Block.
Start:
Start one yard in from the boundary line in front of No 1 Hoop.
A and B Baulk:
This is called the "A" Baulk
Line and runs from the one yard line on the West boundary to the middle of
the South boundary. That is, a line through Hoops No 5 and 6. The "B" Baulk
Line is on the North boundary diagonally opposite "A" Baulk.
Count:
Count how many strokes it
takes to complete the twelve Hoops run in the right direction.
Object:
Keep this score to see how you
can better it in future.
You are getting very good if you
can do it in 20 strokes or less.
Warm Up:
Play this as a warm up - to
learn the run of an unfamiliar lawn - or as a competition with others.
Game
No 3 Golf Croquet.
Preferred
Social Game:
Golf Croquet is the preferred
game for social players. Indeed, it is the preferred Competition for many
Arab Countries - particularly Egypt - and has a large European following
with Championship playoffs. It can become very technical.
In
the Rule Book:
The rules for both British and
American Golf Croquet are comprehensive and available in the Law books.
(New Zealand Year Book)
Easy Start
The players can start by all
shooting at the No 1 Hoop at the same time. The closest to run it wins the
first turn. From then on the turn proceeds as does the colours down the
centre peg - Blue, Red, Black and then Yellow in that order.
The
Objective:
The object is to run the hoop
in turn, either as an individual, or as a team (Blue and Black play Red and
Yellow) In which case a partner might prevent the opposition from gaining an
advantage by hitting the opponent's ball away from the next hoop (or getting
in front thereof) thus allowing the partner ball to possibly run the hoop.
One
Strike You're Out:
Only one strike is allowed
each player in each "in".
And
the Winner Is:
The team (or player) with the
most hoops is the winner. Hitting the centre peg (pegging out) can also be
counted as one for each ball.
Game No 4:
The Tunnel: (Best done with a Vampire
Spiked set of Hoops
Set Up:
Five Hoops are placed in a
straight (string) line about six inches apart (150mm) on a piece of lawn off
the court.
Placing the Ball:
A ball is placed on a marked
spot 150mm in front for the Striker to hit through the tunnel.
Six Turns:
Each player has six turns and
each Hoop correctly run is added together so that 30 is the maximum score.
Testing:
A straight edge is used on the
entry side of the last Hoop passed to determine if that Hoop has been made.
Objective:
The object is a bit of fun
with the addition of learning to follow through with the mallet in a
straight line to ensure a clean throughput.
Learn about Hoops:
Also to learn and know when a
ball has begun and/or run a Hoop correctly.
Sight the Ball:
It might be advantageous here
to learn to sight the ball with the eyes at ground level. There should be an
equal amount of clearance seen on either side of the ball through the
tunnel.
Precision:
This knowledge of sighting to
within a mm is invaluable when (Triple) Peeling or Pegging out.
Game No 5 Round Robin:
Set Up:
Four (4) Bisque markers are
located at one metre intervals (or more) from the boundary line for each
team.
Shooting:
Each player shots four balls
at them one at a time to touch or knock over each bisque marker.
Scoring Points:
The scores are recorded on
Round Robin sheets so that the final winner can be decided.
Objectives:
The objects are (1) To learn
to shoot straight, consistently. (2) To understand the operation of a Round
Robin method of scoring winning games together with points "for" and
"against" = "net points".
Game No 6 Duck Shooting:
Set Up:
Six ducks (balls) are lined up
on the South boundary in line with Rover. From this centre a circle 2 metres
in diameter is drawn.
Quack! Quack!
A player endeavours to land
each of his ducks in this circular pond from the South boundary and for each
one achieved he gets five (5) points.
Bang! Bang!
Meanwhile a shooter has six
bullets (balls) located five metres towards the West or East boundary from
the ducks flight path at 90 degrees to it.
Object:
The object for the shooter is
to fire at the ducks as they go past scoring five (5) points for each duck
shot down.
Stress Raisers:
Spectators are encouraged to
scare the ducks or bedevil the shooter putting both players under stress.
Scores are kept and roles
reversed.
Game No 7 Ranelagh
Set Up:
A Striker's ball is placed on
a corner spot with a second (Target) ball placed one foot (300mm) in front
in the direction of the centre Peg.
The Aim of the Game:
The aim of the game is to
continue to Rush the Target ball to the Peg and Peg both balls out.
Miss and You're OUT:
A missed rush is the end
of turn.
And the Winner is:
The player who can Peg out
both balls in the least number of strokes is the winner.
A good score is about 20 strokes.
Game No 8 Spot and Hoop
Set Up:
Six spot markers are placed at various distances and angles in front of a
Hoop.
Take Aim:
The aim is to make the Hoop
from all six spots.
Keep Score
Game No 9 Eggs in the Basket
Set Up:
Two circles are drawn; the first is about
600mm in diameter (the basket) the other about five (5) metres in diameter.
Objective:
The object is to hit the ten
(10 - more or less) balls (eggs) from the outside circle into the basket
without disturbing the other eggs.
The Winner Is:
The player with the most eggs
in the basket wins.
The Aim:
The aim is to learn to shoot
straight and with just enough power to reach a Target spot as might be done
when taking a Bisque.
Game No 10 Hooping and Poohing
The Set Up:
The player places the ball on a spot about
300mm in front of a Hoop.
Hooping:
He/she then runs the Hoop
which is known as "Hooping".
Poohing:
The player then turns around
and plays the ball from where it stopped back through the Hoop. This is know
as Poohing for obvious reasons.
Keep at It:
The player keeps Hooping and
Poohing until he fails to make the Hoop or Pooh or until he makes a score
which is not likely to be beaten.
Under Control:
One point either way teaches
one to run a Hoop under control.
Game
No 11 Split Roll:
Set Up:
Two circles of one metre diameter are drawn on a lawn about one metre apart.
A line is drawn about five (5) metres from both circles.
The Play:
Two balls are used from this
line in a Croquet shot to roll both balls into the adjacent circles.
Three Turns:
Each player is allowed three
(3) turns.
And the Winner Is:
The winner is the player who
succeeds in getting both balls into their respective circles the most times.
Game No 12 Zig Zag
Set Up:
Six Hoops are used and are located with their left leg on a stringline but
the other leg at 45 degrees to it alternating left to right and about 600mm
between each Hoop.
The Striker:
The Striker's ball is played
from a spot 300mm in front of the first Hoop so that it runs that Hoop and
stops 300mm on and in line for the next Hoop at a zig zag angle.
Seconds:
It runs the second Hoop and
lines up precisely for the third Hoop and so on.
Player Failure:
If the player fails to make a
Hoop he starts again for three turns.
And the Winner Is:
Each Hoop successfully run is
counted and the player with the most points wins.
Objective:
The objective is to have fun
but also to learn to run Hoops under control.
Two Metres Apart:
If the Hoops are spaced in the
same zig zag pattern but two (2) or more metres apart, the outcome of
learning to control the ball in this manner is similar to a controlled Rush
to left or right when leaving a Hoop]
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