There are two great backyard games that can easily be played using any croquet set.

The first is 9-Wicket, "the game we all played as a child in grand ma's backyard. We will discuss that below.

The second is Golf Croquet, either the configuration shown in the Golf Croquet section under "Education", or you can set it up like a golf course and play hole to hole, under trees and around the bushes, what fun!

9-Wicket Rules to Follow

Fun Ways to Learn Backyard Croquet

You can watch these videos (in alphabetic order) about croquet techniques.

• Better Backyard Croquet - Video Tip 1 - The Basic Swing
• Better Backyard Croquet - Video Tip 2 - Grips
• Better Backyard Croquet - Video Tip 3 - The Split Shot
• Better Backyard Croquet - Video Tip 4 - Split Shot With Bottom Hand Lowered
• Better Backyard Croquet - Video Tip 5 - Two-Ball Break
• Better Backyard Croquet - Video Tip 6 - Three-Ball Break
• Better Backyard Croquet - Video Tip 7 - Four-Ball Break

Here are some web pages (in alphabetic order) interpreting the rules of croquet.

1. Backyard Croquet: Rules FAQs
2. Backyard Croquet: Challenging Options
3. What if a ball runs a wicket and hits another ball lying just beyond?
4. What if a ball runs a wicket but hits a ball lying in the wicket?
5. When does a ball score a wicket?