SuperSize Croquet & Toequet

SuperSize Croquet (formerly Toequet), simply put, is soccer ball croquet. The same rules, strategies, and tactics apply. But, instead of hitting a small wooden ball with a mallet through small wire wickets you kick a soccer ball through custom designed SuperSize wickets.

SuperSize Croquet was developed for the game of croquet to be played and enjoyed at family and other social get-togethers even when a smooth manicured lawn was not available. The larger balls make skillful play possible on rough and high grass surfaces that would not be suitable for regular croquet.

SuperSize Croquet can be enjoyed by young and old alike. If you can kick a ball you can enjoy the game of SuperSize Croquet. For all of us that can't keep up with our soccer playing children anymore, SuperSize Croquet gives us an opportunity to enjoy a soccer related activity with them without the rigors of soccer.

You can make SuperSize Croquet as challenging as you want based on how difficult a course you set up. Trees and other obstacles only add to the challenge of the game.

The tradition of making up your own games persists in wicket sports, even though good rules for a variety of great games have been formulated and widely published. The following games include Xtreme Malletball, the favored game of the National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Any of the variations of croquet rules (9- Wicket Backyard Croquet, Poison, 6-Wicket Association Croquet, Pirates, Guerilla Croquet, etc.) can be used for either SuperSize Croquet or Malletball, using either foot or mallet as the striking agent. Most rules recommend a defined “court.” Xtreme Malletball, however, goes anywhere the designer of the course wants to go – which is what makes it truly “extreme.” Topgun is a fast-moving, exciting, aerobic game that doubles as a superb target-shooting and teamwork training device for soccer players of all ages.

SUPERSIZE SIX WICKET CROQUET
(Recommended Rules)

SuperSize Croquet is a new game under development at the 10-acre National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach, the world’s newest and largest croquet facility. It employs the standard rules for Golf Croquet, with slight variations. Instead of croquet balls, the balls are soccer balls, with oversized wickets to match, made of super flexible polyethylene tubing for safety. Instead of striking the balls with a mallet, the balls are propelled by being kicked.

THE COURSE: The six wickets are scored in the order and direction shown on the illustration, beginning at the Starting Tee. Four points wins a seven point game comprising a maximum of the first six wickets and the center state. Seven points makes a win in the 13-point game, in which each wicket is scored twice as shown on the illustration. Any sized course may be used, but clear area of at least 100 feet wide and 125 feet deep is recommended. And ideal course is 150 feet wide by 180 feet long approximately. Boundaries may be set according to “house rules.” If boundary lines are used, play must stop until out-of-bounds balls are replaced.

THE SIDES: Blue/Green play against Red/Yellow in a two-sided game, with two players on each side. Each players may directly kick only his or her own ball in the order of play, but the player’s ball may impact other balls.

THE TURNS: Play is always in the sequence Blue/Red/Green/Yellow (the order of the colors on the stake). There is only one kick per turn. There are no bonus kicks for scoring a wicket or striking another player’s ball with your own ball.

STARTING THE GAME: The starting side is determined by a coin toss. The balls are kicked in proper sequence from the Starting Tee.

SCORING: Each wicket is scored by only one ball, which wins the point for its side. Wickets must be scored in the order of the course. A ball must make a complete pass through the proper wicket in order to score a point. A ball that has entered the wicket from either the playing side or the non-playing side and comes to rest in a position that does not break the plane of the non-playing side has not begun to run the wicket and in the subsequent turn may score the point. Any number of turns may be taken to complete the pass through the proper wicket in the order of the course and thus score the point.

After a wicket is scored by any ball, play continues in sequence from where the balls lie.

THE “PIONEER WICKET”: If at the beginning of a turn the player’s ball is more than halfway to the next wicket in a position it achieved BEFORE the previous wicket was scored, the referee must replace the ball at a point halfway between the wickets before play resumes.

TWO WAYS TO PLAY THE GAME: In the Basic Version, each ball must completely stop before the next ball can be played. In the Advanced or Aerobic Version, the balls must be played in the proper sequence, but the next player can kick before the previous ball has stopped moving.

FAULTS, PENALTIES, AND REFEREEING: The on-court referee regulates play of the game, and all play must stop when the referee’s whistle blows. Kicking and all other fouls are penalized by replacing the balls to their positions before the foul occurred, and requiring the fouling player loses his turn. Play can resume only with the double-tap whistle signal of the official referee.

These rules are very similar to the rules for world championship Golf Croquet, with only slight variations: (1) instead of croquet balls, the balls are soccer balls, with oversized wickets to match, made of break-away PVC piping for safety. (2) Instead of striking the balls with a mallet (Malletball) you may choose instead to kick the balls (Toequet.)

THE COURSE: For Xtreme Malletball, you make up your own course, putting the wickets wherever your pioneering spirit leads you – and there are no fixed boundaries; a roughly circular or oval course is recommended. The tamer games of Court Toequet and Court Malletball use any standard court configuration, either with six wickets or nine wickets. A court of any size may be laid out, but a clear area of at least 100 feet wide and 125 feet deep is recommended. An ideal six-wicket court is 150 feet wide by 180 feet long approximately; a good size for a proportional nine-wicket court is 100 feet wide by 200 feet long. Boundaries may be set according to “house rules.” If boundary lines are used, play must stop until out-of-bounds balls are replaced.

THE TEAMS: Blue/Green play against Red/Yellow in a two-sided game, with one or two players on each side. Each player may directly kick (or stroke) only his or her own ball in the order of play, but the player’s ball may impact other balls. In singles, one person plays both balls of the side in the proper sequence: Blue/Red/Green/Yellow.

THE TURNS: Play is always in the sequence Blue/Red/Green/Yellow (the order of the colors on the stake and on the wickets). There is only one shot per turn. There are no bonus shots for scoring a wicket or striking another player’s ball with your own ball.

STARTING THE GAME: The starting side is determined by a coin toss. The balls are played in proper sequence (Blue/Red/Green/Yellow) from the agreed-upon Starting Tee. This is the only tee-off in the entire game. All the other turns are played from where the balls lie.

SCORING: Each wicket is scored by only one ball, which wins the point for its side. Wickets must be scored in the order and direction of the course. A ball must make a complete pass through the proper wicket from the correct side to score a point. Any number of turns may be taken to complete the pass through the proper wicket in the order of the course and thus score the point. After a wicket is scored by any ball, play continues in sequence from where the balls lie to contest the next wicket in the order of the course.

THE HALF-WAY RULE: If at the beginning of a turn the player's ball is more than halfway to the next wicket in a position it achieved BEFORE the previous wicket was scored, the opponent may request that the player move the ball to any point within six feet of the last wicket to be scored, and the ball must be played from that position.

WINNING THE GAME: “House rules” determine how many points must be earned to win the game; a four-point win is sufficient; if you want a longer game, you may repeat the course any number of times, playing continuously until the winning score is reached.

SUPERSIZE NINE WICKET CROQUET
(Recommended Rules)

SuperSize 9 wicket Croquet can be played by 2, 3 or 4 players.

The court layout shown below can be set up in any grassy area from 75-150 feet wide by 150-300 feet long. Trees and other obstacles only make the court more challenging.

The objective is to pass through wickets 1 to 7, hit the turnstake, and then pass through wickets 8 to 14 and hit the end stake before your opponent(s).

Boundaries should be agreed to before starting play. Out of bounds balls are replaced in bounds with no penalty.

Turns are taken in Blue, Red, Green, Yellow sequence.

2 players – One player plays the Blue and Green balls. The other player plays the Red and Yellow balls.
4 players – Each player plays one ball. Blue and Green are partners. Red and Yellow are partners.
3 players – Each player plays one ball and is on their own.

• The starting point is mid way between the end stake and wicket #1.
• A turn consists of one kick plus any bonus kicks earned. One bonus kick is earned for passing through your target wicket (or hitting the turnstake). Two bonus kicks are earned if two target wickets are made in a single kick.
• No bonus kicks can be earned from striking another ball until both balls are through wicket #3.
• Then two bonus kicks are earned for striking another ball. After earning the bonus kicks from another ball you must pass through your target wicket (or hit the turnstake) before you can earn bonus kicks from that ball again.

You have the following options available for the first of your two earned bonus kicks.

1. Place your ball against the struck ball and hold your ball in place. Kick your ball sending the
other ball while your ball remains stationary. There is no penalty if your ball happens to move.
2. Place your ball against or near the struck ball and kick your ball, sending both balls off.
3. Place your ball away from the struck ball up to a distance of one step and take your kick.

• Whichever of the three options you chose for the first kick you take your second kick from where it stopped after the first kick.
• Bonus kicks may not be accumulated. If both a target wicket is made and another ball is hit in a single kick only the first accomplished counts.
• If another player knocks your ball through your target wicket the wicket counts but no bonus kicks are earned.
• Once a ball has passed through wicket 14 but has not hit the end stake it is a Rover. Rovers can earn bonus kicks from all other balls once each turn.
• Disputes are resolved by the kicker. All local variations to these rules are permissible.

GAMES FOR GROUP FUNCTIONS

SUPERSIZE CROQUET AND MALLETBALL

These games work well for almost all groups because almost everyone can play them, on almost any outdoor surface. SuperSize Croquet and Malletball with the Golf Croquet rules at the top of this page are ideal for social competitions and team-builders, because everyone begins, theoretically, at the same level, with little or no prior experience with the equipment or the game.

At family gatherings, the children – especially the younger ones – will prefer to KICK the ball, because the mallets are too big for them; parents may even partner with youngsters, with the adults using mallets and the kids kicking the balls. To pacify the younger set (and allow the adults to play in peace) set up a few wickets for the kids that can be used simply as “target practice” in a contest to see who can kick the ball through the wicket from various distances.

For social tournaments and team-builders, a “shotgun start” is recommended on a roughly circular course, allowing play to begin simultaneously at many points on the course. On a nine-wicket circular course, for example, put the stake in the middle, and have the players gather there to start all their games. Start a doubles game at every other wicket; with 16 balls, for example, you can start four games at each of four wickets; the faster teams will sometimes be asked to wait until their next wicket is cleared by the team ahead of them – just as on a golf course.

Even in a casual social setting, a tournament adds spark and drama to your event and provides an exciting climax with solid spectator values. Organize a simple single-elimination doubles tournament, with winners playing winners after each round. (Losers can play losers after every round also, when there is space.) When the ladder becomes uneven, simply “promote” a worthy loser to fill it out in even numbers, until there are only two sides left for the final. Then make a really big deal out of the final, with play-by-play and “expert commentary” from the sidelines, culminating with the scoring of the winning point and the award of prizes.

If you find you’re running out of time in an elimination tournament requiring four-point wins in Golf Croquet, simply switch to the fast-moving TOPGUN to play down the semi-finalists and finalists. You might want to do this anyway, as these action-packed two- minute contests make a crowd-pleasing, dramatic finish for your event.

At family gatherings, the children – especially the younger ones – will prefer to KICK the ball, because the mallets are too big for them; parents may even partner with youngsters, with the adults using mallets and the kids kicking the balls. To pacify the younger set (and allow the adults to play in peace) put up a few wickets for the kids that can be used simply as “target practice” in a contest to see who can kick the ball through the wicket from various distances. Or with some balls and a stake, have the kids play a kicking version of bowls, with the ball nearest the stake winning each round.