One of the best outdoor plays is croquet. Other than your usual outdoor frisbee afternoon session or watching your kid ride a digger, croquet is a game where not only kids but teenagers and adults will enjoy, too. The game is a colorful experience of players hitting colored balls (blue, red, black, yellow, orange, and green balls) to their designated hoops, which you can check out upon seeing the best croquet game sets available. Because for the game to work, you’ll need the tools and we have the best ones in line for you.
If you’re looking for croquet game sets, look no further. Croquet is also a social game wherein two teams of players use mallets to hit wooden or plastic balls to the hoops suspended on the grass. But for two teams (three players each) to ace the mallet game, you need to have a good set of croquet products. In this article, we’re going to talk about what is croquet, the benefits of having croquet equipment, the best croquet game sets, how to play croquet, and frequently asked questions about the game.
What is Croquet
Croquet just like flying kites, is best played in a large open area, usually in a large garden or grassed court. Two teams take turn hitting wooden or plastic balls with long sticks called mallets. The balls are targeted to reach the hoops for a score. Though there are several variations of this game, the basic rules are most adhered to. In fact, this game started long ago during the 17th century with a set of rules written by Isaac Spratt. Croquet officially started in 1868.
The official set of rules were established along with the founding of the All England Croquet Club also the same year. After two years passed, Croquet was then practiced in royal courts, even holding croquet parties within the Royal Family of England during the year 1870. There were 65,000 copies sold of Croquet Laws and Regulations as croquet spread out towards Europe and the British colonies such as Australia and New Zealand.
Modern-day croquet has modern-day croquet game sets as well as updated rules. There are also upgrades of the scoring system, order of shots, and layout in case the play is situated in smaller spaces. The variation that is popularly available to practice in home lawns is Gard croquet which uses a 6-hoop configuration. The reason why Gard croquet is the preferred variation of brands making croquet game sets because a 6-hoop configuration would need 6 players to play the game fair and square without dragging on for longer hours and needing more tools and equipment.
What to Look for When Buying Croquet Game Sets
There are croquet game sets available on the market for interested players like you can check out. Having a croquet game set will give you the following benefits:
Materials Quality
Proper Tools and Equipment
Instead of buying the croquet tools and equipment individually, you can have a set ready for you. The tools and equipment of the croquet game set would compliment each other in terms of design and support the players when playing the game.
For a croquet game to work, you need at least a 6 croquet player set. This contains the proper amount of balls with their respective hues (blue, red, black, yellow, orange, and green), 6 wooden mallets (size depends on brand), 9 plastic ‘wickets’ or hoops, and 2 end posts.
Game Guide
If you’re new to playing croquet, a game manual will help you get oriented. This will contain the rules, how to play that game, how to identify fouls, and even how to maintain your croquet game set. It will make you and your playmates informed to keep the game fair and square.
Best Croquet Game Sets
We have gathered a list of well-deserved croquet gaming sets that you can purchase. Here are the products below:
ApudArmis Six Player Croquet Set
Type: 6 Player Croquet Set
Product Dimensions: 27 x 8 x 4 inches; 9 Pounds
Best for: Kids, teenagers, and adults
Package includes: 6x 28″ Colourful Mallets, 6 Colored Croquet Balls, 2x 18″ Ending stakes, 9 Steel Wickets, a Manual and a extra Large Portable Carry Bag.
Description: The croquet game set from ApudArmis has a premium rubberwood structure built for their mallets which is durable for long-term use, sweat-proof with the mallet handle made from poplar wood. It is then designed with bright colors to complete the mallet look. The mallet is also easy to install without using any tool.
ApudArmis created a classic croquet look with durability, longevity, and sustainability in mind with its high-quality croquet set.
Pros: The professional six player croquet set meets for any lawn or backyard.
Cons: None! We think this is the best.
Reviews:
This is a great product for the price! My daughter loves playing croquet at her grandparent’s. they have a very old (and expensive) set from the 1970s. I wasn’t looking to spend a ton of money – in case she lost interest at our home- but this set is perfect!! wood is sturdy & I like that everything fits nicely in the bag (heads do have to be taken off)
-Mary Hays
The quality of this croquet set is very very nice. The wood is heavy and feels good in the hand. The workmanship is very smooth with no nicks or dents, the paint is nice quality, and the mallet fits snuggly in the handle. The metal hoops are pretty heavy and not flimsy and the case is nice too!
-Sherry Moghadam
Franklin Sports Outdoor Croquet Set – 6 Player Croquet Set
Type: 6 Player Croquet Set
Product Dimensions: 24.4 x 7.4 x 2.7 inches
Best for: Older teenagers and adults
Package includes: 6 pieces of 3.31″ all-weather molded balls, also 6 pieces of 24″ painted wood stakes, and (9) 9mm steel bent wire wickets.
Description: This product from Franklin offers an intermediate variation of croquet design with dark brown paint or chestnut finish on the mallet, pastel-painted ball colors, white bent wire wickets, and vinyl stickers wrapped around the sticks and end posts.
Franklin’s Intermediate Croquet Set includes everything you need to coordinate a backyard croquet game.
Pros: The intermediate set is packed with durable tools and equipment for a croquet game
Cons: The mallets are too heavy for a child to use and there is no hands-on carry for all the tools and equipment.
Reviews:
I declare without a doubt these are some of the most solid, well-made mallets you will find. And the length of the handle is perfect for adults and teenagers.
-JB
I purchased the Intermediate Set, but the classic set comes with larger mallets, longer stakes, and bent wooden wickets. I’m average height and our youngest player is 6 year old and the mallets are comfortable for both of us and everyone in between. I don’t think you can go wrong with this set.
-Admiral Schmickover
Juegoal Six Player Deluxe Croquet Set
Type: 6 Player Croquet Set
Product Dimensions: 27.8 x 6.3 x 3.75 inches; 6.15 Pounds
Best for: People of all ages
Package includes: 6 x 28″ hardwood handles, 6 x 8″ hardwood mallets with caps for added protection, 2 x 18″ hardwood ending stakes, 6 x 2.8″ weather-resistant molded balls, 9 x steel wickets with vinyl coating, storage bag
Description: This product from Juegoal comes with a vintage finish. The color-coated hardwood mallets with rubber caps are high-quality and are easy to set up. All mallets and balls can be easily stored without disassembly because it comes with a storage bag to keep everything in place.
Juegoal set the bar too high with the 28 inches mallets compared to other brands.
Pros: Made of high quality hardwood for prolonged use and feature a modern design that great for any lawn, patio or backyard.
Cons: The mallets might be long for kids, so not all children can use it.
Reviews:
Even though this product states “Adult” I believe kids of at least 12 may play with this set (handles are roughly 28″ in length)! Quality is Top-Notch .Carrying case is of great quality too
-Russell, CM
I liked how it could be packed in one bag to take with you. I got one for all 3 kids and their families for Christmas. The materials were good quality and all that I remember as a kid.
-Kindle customer
Triumph 6-Player Croquet Set
Type: 6 player croquet set
Product Dimensions: 24.42 x 7.48 x 2.76 inches; 6.8 Pounds
Best for: Kids and teenagers
Package includes: six multicolored solid wood mallets (six 7″ x 1.75″ heads and six 24″ x 0.75″ handles), six 70mm balls, nine weather-resistant coated wire wickets, two-goal stakes (18″ x 0.75″), and a carrying bag
Description: This one from Triumph is a recreational backyard croquet set designed with multiple colors including the mallet sticks, hoops or ‘wickets’, and goal stakes. Their solid wood handles are durable and sturdy even after heavy use.
Triumph created an intricate croquet set with all the pieces fitting in the included carrying bag for easy transportation and storage.
Pros: This croquet set is a bright, kid-friendly product with complete and quality tools.
Cons: The length and width of the mallet head is kind of small so it might take a lot more effort to hit the ball.
Reviews:
This is a child size croquet set, not full size for adults. My husband removed all the packaging, so I can’t return, but would send them back if I could. Wasn’t what I was looking for.
-Kiki717
I gave it a three-star: Since my 5 and 6-year-old now use them as pretend hammers and work around the yard with them, I’m still getting a use out of them.
-T
IPOW 32 Inch Six Player Croquet Set
Type: 6 Player Croquet Set
Product Dimensions: 35.04 x 7.87 x 4.33 inches; 8.16 Pounds
Best for: Older kids, teenagers, and adults
Package includes: 6 x 32″ hardwood handles, 6 x 8″ hardwood mallets, 2 x 18″ hardwood ending stakes, 6 x 2.8″ Colored Wooden balls, 9 x steel wickets, and a large portable carry bag.
Description: The product from IPOW sports a 32-inch mallet length which is pretty long. The mallet heads of their mallets contain a plastic cap to prevent dents to the wooden balls after every hit. The mallets, the balls, the stakes, all of these are made of premium hardwood material, make it durable for long-term use, sweat-proof, and comfortable to grip.
Pros: High-quality croquet set with long-length mallets that has plastic caps to absorb the blunt force hit of the ball.
Cons: None.
Reviews:
Came in a nice carry bag, which all the pieces snuggly fit in. Handle detachable to mallet head, and screwed in and didn’t feel loose or wobbly. Balls had decent heft, so when hit made a nice sound and didn’t roll too fast. Brought back good memories of when I used to play many years ago at friend’s houses. Overall very good deal for the price and am happy with this purchase.
-Dave
So glad that we opened the box today! Good quality, good value compared with other brands. No bad smell. Suitable for all ages. Good for indoor play as well even though it is designed for outdoor. Both my four years old and my one year old enjoyed playing this game in their own ways. 🙂 It is a great idea if you have to stay at home with kids due to bad weather.
-mia
How To Play Croquet
The basic how-to’s for contemporary croquet game are as follows:
- Group yourself into two with three players on each team. The game can be played between two sides or as an individual (no partner).
- Get the colored balls and give one team the blue, black, and green balls. For the other team, give the red, orange, and yellow balls.
- Assign the balls to the players. Remember that blue ball players partner with black ball players while red partners with yellow.
- Both teams will toss a coin to see who goes first. The winner group of the coin toss always starts by playing the red/blue ball with its assigned player.
- You can get one turn in hitting the ball towards the first hoop using the head of the mallet and no other. Touching other parts while hitting the ball means a fault, and therefore, no score.
- The next player plays their turn. No ‘passing’ of turns allowed.
- The first team to hit the ball to their respective goal stakes is the winner
FAQs about Croquet Play
We have gathered up related questions about croquet and answered them. Here are the frequently asked questions below:
Q: What do you call a person who plays croquet?
A: There’s no general term for people who play croquet but you may refer to them as ‘croquet players’. The player whose turn it is to hit the ball with a mallet is called a striker. All other players can be strikers.
Q: Why is it called croquet?
A: The name is a French word derived from the word ‘crochet’. The meaning of that word is “little crook”. It was also officially issued that the word croquet comes from the word ‘crookey’ which means “hooked stick” that can be related to the basic tools and equipment of croquet play.
Q: What are croquet balls made of?
A: There are two main types of composition for croquet balls. These are plastic and wooden balls. Depending on the brand, croquet balls can be plastic or wooden but most of them are made of plastic than wood because it is more durable.
Q: What is croquet played on?
A: Croquet is an outdoor game, preferably situated in short-grass lawns/backyards measuring up to 14m x 17.5m. It is recommended that the croquet gaming area is flat and smooth (without patches or stones). However, you can also play croquet indoors on a 14m x 17.5m flat surface.
Q: Do I have to follow the correct color sequence when hitting croquet balls?
A: Yes, because this will provide a guide for which ball is next to hit. The correct sequence for individual players is blue, red, black and yellow. When it comes to partners, blue and black balls always play against the red and yellow balls.
Play Croquet the Good Way
Croquet is a fun outdoor (and sometimes indoor game) that the whole family will love. It may be a classic game but it sure brings smiles to every striker!
