Ladies, Croquet Anyone? No, I Didn’t Mean Crochet or Croquettes!

So last week, one fine evening, he walked up to me with an evil grin and said, “Well, you are going to play croquet match”. I was like, what match? I knew crochet and croquettes, but honestly, I haven’t ever heard of croquet, so leave alone playing it. Well, for those of you who are as illiterate as I was about this game – it’s a game played on the lawn, during summer mostly, where huge wooden balls are hit by means of mallets and driven through square topped loops called wickets. If you are still not clear, think of it as something like golf, just that instead of the small hard ball you have a huge wooden one, instead of the club you have a huge wooden mallet and instead of the holes, you have the vertical metal loops. Hope that helps! :P Refer the image, if you still feel lost.

Now that I have played it, I mean, played my heart out, croquet is much more than just over-sized balls, huge mallets and loops. It’s way more fun than it looks. Honestly, I haven’t quite figured out croquet yet; it is said that the game can be played in a number of ways and so varied are the rules. Nevertheless, since it was a match held for the ladies here, there was a lot of laughing and hilarity, as we moved along the course, carrying the mallets and chasing the wooden balls into the wickets!

If you play golf, yes, you definitely have an upper hand in this game; unlike the rest of us who haven’t even witnessed a game of golf! However, it is the “lady luck” and a wee bit of strategy that can help you score better. When I say score better, it’s not the one who scores the maximum number of points that wins here; in croquet, the winner is the one who takes the least number of hits at the ball and finish passing it through the loop of wickets. If I elaborate, here is how the game goes – there is a starting pole and a finishing pole, and a number of wickets or loops set along a course. To begin the game, you need to keep the ball next to the starting pole and hit it with the mallet through the first loop. The number of loops may vary, the one we played had 9 loops between the starting and finishing poles. If the ball makes it through the loop in one go, great, you save your hits, but if it surpasses the loop from the sides or doesn't reach the loop in one hit, you sort of keep hitting the ball, changing pace or direction until it passes through the loop. So, that's the game basic.

To me, although it felt like a game of precision and aiming, which it is, the act of banging things on the ground with mallet was extremely satisfying.  I think all corporates should keep this game as a “stress buster”, if you know what I mean! :P

We were mostly greenhorns at work and that made the game even more interesting. There was a couple of hours of practice session for two days; but seriously, practice isn't going to help much, other than getting you accustomed with the rules of the game. Well, at the qualifying match and the final, the scores were nowhere close to what we made during practice sessions. However, since this involved ladies, there was a lot to look forward to for four days – well, we talked, laughed, gossiped more than we actually practiced the game. There was a valid reason to be out of house, mostly all our friends were present, there were chairs, tea and biscuits; what more do you want to call it a wonderful evening!

The fun doubled on Day 2, as the organizers changed the course and they made it more challenging by keeping one of the loops on the slope. Now giving it a second thought, I can't tell you exactly, if that doubled the fun or created more chaos - well, how do you hit a ball into the loop which is on the slope? It is basic science that anything round would continuously roll down from the slope. That one loop costed everyone a minimum of ten hits and ladies one after the other, including me, tried strategies after strategies to tame it. No, none of us came out successful.

Probably the organizers heard the nagging, well, my own husband was in charge of the game, and they slightly adjusted the loop on the slope for Day 3, when we played the qualifying round. About 35 ladies tried their luck and 19 made their way to the final round. On Day 4 we played one after the other and three came out as winners with scores of 34 hits, 35 hits and 38 hits. 

It is a lazy sort of a game and so were we. As I mentioned, the charm of the game is the group that plays it. There were ladies who took 55-75 hits to complete the game, but no one nagged or bothered because, once you are at it, you enjoy every minute. You have a group of ladies sympathizing, cheering and woo-ing for you. And more importantly, you get to socialize! 

This game is a great way to spend a lazy afternoon. So, if you haven’t played it yet, believe me, you’re definitely missing something.  If you have a fun group, access to a well maintained smooth lawn and croquet equipment, do not wait any longer. Summer won’t stay for long and you'll regret, if you wait until next season to play this amazing game!

P.S – Although I couldn't make it to first three in the final (it took me 44 hits), another friend of mine (we share the same name) stood second and made us all proud! Congratulations Radhika! :-)