Croquet consists of a few basic strokes, but like the moves in chess, once you have mastered them a complex tactical game results. This section gives a complete introduction to Association Rules croquet (also known as International Rules croquet) from an absolute beginner to a top player.
The material below is arranged in approximate order of complexity. At the end are references to croquet scoring notation and croquet computer and board games.
Please note that Oxford Croquet is the private site of Dr Ian Plummer and is not associated with Oxford University or its sports clubs, any company, the Croquet Association or any other bodies.
For beginners to players with handicaps of around 16 (see Handicap Play below)
| An Introduction to Association Rules Croquet including the lawn layout, basic rules and common misconceptions |
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A shockwave presentation which introduces the basics of croquet [147KB]. You need to download the shockwave player [3.8M] if you do not already have it. |
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| A publication produced by the Croquet Association |
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| This is a Short Summary of the Laws of Association Rules Croquet |
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| The Basic Idea, Single Ball Strokes and Croquet Strokes |
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| How to Start, the Rush Line, the Four-ball Break and Leaves |
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| The Three-ball Break, Basic Tactics, Handicap Play |
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| The End Game, Further Tactics and a Practice Game |
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John Bevington of Wrest Park Croquet Club has produced a PowerPoint presentation introducing croquet which then goes on to illustrate break play and even a triple peel. |
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How to line up balls in a croquet stroke and the type of stroke to play. |
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Hints from the South Australian Coaching Committee |
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Advice and routines to help running hoops |
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| How a very light grip and pendulum action can help |
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John Riches proposes that teaching Ricochet, croquet without the croquet strokes, is a fast and fun way for beginners to be introduced to the full game. |
A translation of the Beginner's Coaching Notes by Satoru Oshida |
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Coaching Manual produced by Georg Schorr, Wien (PDF format) |
| What is Handicap Play and How Handicaps Work |
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| A Lighthearted Indication of the Abilities of Players with Various Handicaps |
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| A Guide by the Croquet Association |
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| A Guide written by Bill Lamb in 1996 |
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| Geoffrey Cuttle Discusses Handicap Play |
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A Discussion of Handicap Play Options |
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A System which Speeds up Handicap Play |
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| A Guide for New Players at Club Fixtures and Tournaments |
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| What to Bear in Mind when Deciding which Ball to Shoot at |
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| 'Aunt Emma' Non-Tactics. What to Avoid |
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John Riches' Coaching booklets: this one covers the analysis of basic strokes. |
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John Riches' Coaching booklets: this one covers the common errors in basic strokes. |
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David Maugham gives reasons and data. |
For handicaps of around 14 down to around 6
| The Four-Ball Break |
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| The Three-Ball Break |
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| Modified Three-Ball Break Pioneer Positions |
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| Changing Pivot in a Four-Ball Break |
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| The Start of the Game |
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| Openings |
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| Leaves and Ball Positions |
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| Getting Balls into Play |
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| Special Shots |
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| Using Bisques |
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| Tactics Against Better Players |
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| Giving Bisques |
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| Wiring |
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| Pegging Out |
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| Advanced Play |
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| The Triple Peel |
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| Glossary |
| Beating Aunt Emma | Tactics Against Dour Players |
Four problems: how do you make a four ball break from here? Solutions to the classic four balls in the centre of boundaries and in the corners. |
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Planning Six Strokes Ahead! |
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John Riches' Coaching booklets: this one covers intermediate to advanced tactics. |
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| Suggestions for practice routines aimed at players with a handicap of 12 or below. |
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| Illustrations of how to Dig Balls off Boundaries and Build a Break |
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| Dave Kibble describes how it is done |
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| Simple Recipes For Arranging Balls For Cannons |
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| More Details On Arranging Cannons - By Allen Parker |
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| How to Play a Special Shot when your Back Swing is Hindered |
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| Course notes accompanying the Silver Gilt Coaching Course |
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John Riches' Coaching booklets: sports psychology applied to croquet |
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| Different methods of playing the stroke including hitting off-centre |
Duffer's Tice, Anti-Duffer's |
A couple of openings, a leave and a shot used in Advance Play which have special names. |
Robert Fulford's Analysis |
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Diagrams of the OSL, NSL, Diagonal Spread, etc. |
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| Details of the Various Forms of Peeling and What can go Wrong |
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| When the Peels of a Triple Peel may be done Easily |
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Peeling the Opponent to get a Stronger Leave |
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| The ‘Bombard’ | An open-cannon solution to a situation which frequently arises at the start of a game under Advanced Rules |
Leading players offer their advice on continuing the triple peel. |
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Experts suggest leaves and tactics |
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Marcus Evans considers some of the options |
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What to do if you get around to 4-back in third turn |
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An insight into two top players' thoughts during a game where the innings changed frequently |
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Pete Trimmer on how to slay World Champions |
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What motivates a croquet player to try more difficult manouevres |
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Robert Fulford's Analysis of Leaves for the Sextuple |
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One Method to Achieve the Six Peels |
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Reg Bamford explains why the sextuple peel (SXP) is a winning tactic for him |
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Robert Fulford gives his perspective on using Sextuples as a Winning Tactic. |
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Experts discuss their methods of executing a Sextuple |
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An example of the tactics and play preceding a sextuple |
Oxford Croquet is pleased to host John's publications. Eight booklets cover Tactics, Techniques, Sports Psychology and Refereeing. The booklets will be added at approximately monthly intervals over 2003/4.
| Croquet Videos | A web site dedicated to links to videos of croquet games |
A number of players give tips |
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A computerised handicap card which calculates the steps, index changes and updates the index for you. It is based on Microsoft Excel hence you will need Excel on your machine to use it. |
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| A circular slide rule for calculating the number of handicap points exchanged when games are played under Advanced Rules |
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| Abbreviations Used in Croquet Scoring |
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| Free interactive (PC) computer game by Russell Robinson (r.robinson@gns.cri.nz) You play both sides of a game or computer opponents. |
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| CROQUET Version 2.1.5 |
"People may be interested to know that over the last year or
two I have developed, purely for my own amusement, a croquet simulation
game for Windows 95/98/2000/ME/XP PC. It attempts to include all the
rules and subtleties of the full CA game, except that it will not allow
players to commit faults (such as not moving the ball in a croquet stroke,
or taking a divot out of the screen). |
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