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With steely focus and hearts pounding, teams battle toe to toe to fire off the winning shot. Team communication and split-second decision making are at a premium as the game draws to a frenetic conclusion. What are we talking about? Basketball, hockey, soccer? Nah, this is the Weekly Croquet Break. We must be talking about Speed Croquet, a game invented out of necessity on a warm summer evening as dusk faded to the darkness of nighttime. We were losing our light and didn’t have enough time for another game of golf croquet. But we were having so much fun and it had been such a beautiful evening. What could the four of us play that wouldn’t take too much time? That’s when we invented Speed Croquet.
Speed Croquet is a race between two teams. The object of the game is to be the first team to run hoops 1-5 in order, then hit the peg. One team starts at the yellow flag. The other team starts at the red flag. Each team plays only one ball and team members alternate taking shots. The game starts with a countdown, whistle, or any other sound that enables both teams to start at the same time. At the signal, a member of each team hits its ball to its respective hoop 1. His or her teammate then hits the second shot, but only when the first shot has come to a complete stop. Teammates alternate shots running hoops 1-5 in order, then hitting the peg. The first team to hit the peg wins! Often, both teams are shooting for the peg at the same time which can result in some craziness as players jockey for position.
If a player hits a ball still in motion, it’s like missing a gate in slalom skiing, your team is out of the race and the other team is awarded the win. Like other sports, cross-checking and blocking below the waist are strictly forbidden. Croquet is not yet ready to be a contact sport. Although that might increase YouTube views.
Speed Croquet requires many of the skills required in Golf Croquet, but also calls for quick decision making, quick shot making and even some fancy footwork. How close or far from the hoop do you hit an approach shot? Do you try to run the hoop, or set your partner up for an easy hoop shot? Those are some of the decisions you’ll need to make on the fly. A lead can quickly evaporate with just a couple of poorly conceived or played shots.
A well-played game can be finished in less than two minutes. And, if there are multiple competitors, games can be played against the clock to see who has the fastest time.
As players frantically chase their balls, cries of anguish, laughter and maybe a bit of trash talking can be heard across the lawn. It's great fun and the perfect way to end a day or evening of croquet.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t give a shout out to our co-inventors, Morna and John Steninger. Without their ideas and good humor, Speed Croquet would never have happened.
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