croquet

croquet , lawn game in which the players hit wooden balls with wooden mallets through a series of 9 or 10 wire arches, or wickets. The first player to hit the posts placed at each end of the field wins. The game developed in France in the 17th cent. Though the American public identifies it as a casual picnic sport, higher levels of play that feature manicured playing surfaces, skilled shotmaking, and cutthroat strategy increased in the 1980s. An annual contest between the United States Naval Academy and St. John's College of Annapolis is a growing rivalry.

croquet may have originated in France, since most of the terms are French in origin, and seems to have been played in England in the 16th cent. Like many games, it became standardized in the Victorian period and an English tournament was organized at Evesham in 1867. Three years later a conference laid down rules, though these have been substantially modified. Simple versions are played in many private gardens, with unexpected hazards, but the national game is administered by the Croquet Association at the Hurlingham Club.

J. A. Cannon