American Rules

While many top class American players prefer the international rules of Association Croquet, the official USCA game remains dominant in North America. Under Association rules, a ball may hit each of the other balls just once per turn, unless a hoop is scored. Under American rules, that quota isn't reset from turn to turn. Once a player has used up all three hits, his ball becomes "dead" on the other three balls, and will find it hard to make further progress.

The game has several other differences from the International "Association" game.

• Rather than starting from the edge of the lawn, players start from a yard in front of the first hoop.  The balls don't become part of the game until this hoop is scored.
• Rover (the 12th hoop) is score in the opposite direction - towards the peg.  This makes the subsequent peg out shot much easier.
• Strict sequence is maintained throughout the game - Blue, then Red, then Black, then Yellow.  It's possible to lay traps for the opponent, knowing that the next turn must be played with the other ball. Pegging out one ball early on is likely to prove fatal, as the opponents may take two turns for every one for the rest of the game.
• The boundary is measured as the point where a ball's centre lies on the white line (almost impossible to judge). In Association Croquet, the boundary is crossed when any part of the ball overhangs the line.
• The 'yardline' in Association Croquet is a mallet's length - i.e. a yard.  Balls are moved back into play so they sit on this line.  In USCA Rules, balls are moved on a mallet head's length - i.e. nine inches.
• Under International Rules, a ball can score a hoop and hit (roquet) another ball in the same stroke.  In US Rules, the roquet is deemed not to have occurred.
• Balls running rover may not subsequently roquet more than one ball per turn. A rover ball that's two-ball or three-ball dead can have its entitlement restored by passing through any hoop in either direction.

Many outsiders find this version very defensive and exasperating. Nevertheless, it has had great popularity, particularly in Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s. Leading movie figures David O Selznick, Samuel Goldwyn and George Cukor held regular croquet parties. Among the top players of the time was Harpo Marx.