No.339
Golf Croquet: An Introduction
Japanese name: ゴルフクロッケー（入門）
Materials
- Child-sized mallets and four coloured balls
- 6 stable hoops with order markers
- Boundary markers and scoring materials
How to play
- Pair blue with black and red with yellow. In singles, each player controls two colours; in doubles, one each. Mark the order and direction through the hoops. Gather all four balls at a safe shared starting position.
- Play blue, red, black, yellow in that order, with exactly one stroke of your own ball per turn. Everyone targets hoop one. Passing a hoop or hitting another ball earns no extra stroke.
- The first side to send a whole ball through the hoop in the correct direction scores one point. Everyone then targets the next hoop, continuing from the balls’ current positions.
- You may move an opposing ball by hitting it with yours, but do not strike near people or equipment. Replace out-of-bounds balls at the boundary where they exited. Waiting players stand clear of the striker.
- This introduction contests each of six hoops once. The higher score wins; equal scores are a draw. Change colours and starting players for another game.
Ways to adapt
Younger primary: practise individually alongside an adult with wide hoops and light balls. Competitive play is not intended for preschool. Six hoops and a shared start are this book’s introductory format.