Other National Variants

Many countries have their own version of the recognised rules. A game called "Ancient Croquet" has been popular in Russia, where cosmonauts were encouraged to play the game as rehabilitation after long periods of weightlessness. Leo Tolstoy was a keen player, and described the game in his novel Anna Karenina.

Denmark has, per capita, by far the largest community of competitive croquet players, with around 5,000 registered participants. They play one-handed, with short mallets held golf-style. Apparently, they regard players from overseas with some disdain for the need to use both hands to play.

This seems to be a throwback to the early days of Victorian croquet. The use of two hands was seen as unsporting, as it disadvantaged ladies, who had to play whilst holding a parasol in the other hand.

The Danish game has nine hoops and two pegs. The croquet stroke, as in Gateball, is played with a foot on the striker's ball.