Adventure Croquet

Idea in development Rules in flux. Suggestions always welcome

Nemo - 2020Jun13

Origin and concept

Game accidentally invented by Nemo at Nerissa's birthday. It's casual fun only and not to be taken too seriously (this does not preclude it being a potential sport for future Olympics)

Adventure Croquet simplifies croquet down to "A race through hoops to the end", but complicates it by allowing for an obstacle ridden course (hoops next to trees, paths through picnic furniture, etc)

Setup

Take your croquet hoops and arrange them in any fashion in the play area, be it a park, hiking trail, front-and-back lawn of your house, neighbours lawns, etc. There is no limit to total size, but practical limit is that all parts of the area are within earshot of each other. Also, one peg to indicate the finish.

The hoops have a specific order to play, and a specific direction per hoop.

Actually playing

Players take turns hitting their ball to the next hoop. If it goes through, they get an extra hit.

Other croquet rules are optional.

Winner is the first to the peg.

Pros and Cons

• Pro: Simple to learn
• Pro: every course is dynamically different
• Con: Some courses simply suck
• Con: If one player gets particularly stuck on a hoop on a large course, the game players can end up widely spread out.
  • This is largely resolved in the Advanced form below.

Advanced Adventure Croquet

This form of the game adds elements of "golf croquet" (of which Nemo was unaware of at the time). https://www.croquet.org.uk/?p=games/golf

Setup is largely identical, but instead of a race to the end, every hoop is played twice, either as "there and back again" (preferred), or "circuit, twice".

New course layout rule: One hoop (approx the middle one of the course) may be deemed a wildcard hoop. This is placed in an impossible position (eg: sideways on a tree, or flat on grass) and the first player to get to it (within 1m) can then place it at their choosing.

Play: The first time through every hoop is the same as regular Adventure Croquet.

The second time through (return path, or second lap) adds the following:

• Whenever a player's ball passes through a hoop, they now have two options:

1. Take the extra hit
2. Claim the hoop

If the hoop is claimed, then they forfeit a second hit, and any players following no longer have to achieve that hoop.

This now gives two winning modes:

1. Win on speed (same as regular adventure croquet)
2. Win on points (most hoops)

Misc:

• The course is self-cleaning in the following ways
  • Hitting the end peg (turnaround or start of second lap) does not grant a second hit. However the last player to reach that peg claims it as a point. This peg is not available to any earlier player.
  • The player in last position through any hoop (ie, nobody else still to traverse it) on the return/second lap, MUST claim the hoop, but retain their second hit bonus.
• If a players ball is knocked through their target hoop by another players ball, they gain the position advancement, but can claim neither a second hit, nor on the second half are they eligible to claim the hoop.

Pros and Cons

• Pro: the further behind you are, the more likely hoops are claimed and thus allow you to catch up. This helps to keeps the group of players together. The "...and back again" version is also preferred since turning around assists the process of re-grouping players.
• Pro: tactics
• Con: longer (every hoop twice)

Misc

• Adventure Croquet since 2006

• Advanced Adventure Croquet since 2020
  • https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10158557173683216&set=a.10150704990443216&type=3&theater&notif_t=feedback_reaction_generic&notif_id=1592027944308250
  • Novemberfest 2020 to great success (6 players, 11 hoops)

• Golf Croquet: https://www.croquet.org.uk/?p=games/golf
• Extreme Croquet (developed independently and earlier to Adventure Croquet)L https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_croquet