It is almost impossible (as the reader will already have perceived) to overestimate the great importance that “the croquet” bears upon the game. A player who devotes all his efforts to pass through the hoops will find himself soon left behind by those who look upon that department of the game as merely subservient to the more fascinating task of driving away a foe, or of helping a friend; and this fact becomes more and more patent when the number of players is six or eight. True, when only two play, if one gets a good start, it is a somewhat difficult matter for the other player to stay his progress; and as this inevitably takes away half the interest of the game, we recommend a pair of players to use a couple of balls, since by so doing one can assist the other, and develop the croquet to great advantage; but then, again, it is not expedient to devote the whole of one’s energies to produce a collision between two balls. The player’s first rule should be to pass through a hoop; if, however, he sees an equal chance of passing through it after he has gone out of his route to drive an adverse player away, he should at all times make use of the croquet; for it must be remembered that keeping an enemy back is almost equivalent to making progress, and that the game cannot be lost as long as a foe’s ball is behind one’s own. The art of the tight croquet consists in placing the striking ball in juxtaposition to that ball which has been croqued, and then, setting the left foot upon his own ball, the striker hits it sharply with his mallet, and consequently the other ball is driven by the power of the stroke to a distance in proportion to the force with which the ball was struck. In the loose croquet, however, the player need not place his foot upon the ball at all, but by adopting the following stroke can drive the two balls forward in the same direction, or by hitting his own ball with a slanting mallet can drive the balls away at an angle to each other. The purpose of this feat is either to aid a friend or to do damage to an enemy. A friend can by croquing send a partner through the hoop he wishes to pass, or else drive an enemy—who has obtained a good position, and who feels certain of going through a hoop at his next turn—exactly in the opposite direction to that in which he wishes to travel. In order, however, to make this stroke very effective, great care must be taken with regard to the way in which the ball is driven. Many thoughtless players think nothing of driving a foe close to a friend, or, in the hopes of assisting their side, send a friend in the immediate neighbourhood of a foe—thus improving the position of the adverse side, and damaging that of their own. The difference that a few thoughtful players make to a side is wonderful. Whilst others hit their balls about without ever thinking that at his next turn a foe will probably croquet them, the careful players, anticipating the positions of the other bails, place themselves in a position from which, when their next turn comes, they can either go through a hoop, or croquet the ball of a more careless player. Thus, if foe B is behind a hoop through which A has to pass, but requires two turns for the passage, it would be very absurd if A were to place himself close to B, in the hope of passing through next time, since B would be sure to croquet him, and place him in even a worse position than he occupies in the [illustration]. A should content himself by playing to C, for B would not go so far out of his way to croquet him, and then A could go through the ring the next time he plays.
If A is at the side of a hoop through which he cannot possibly pass in one turn, he should play behind the ring to the spot marked B, and not in a line marked A C, or else he would probably go either too far or not far enough, and be forced to accomplish in three turns what, if he had gone to B, he could probably have done in two.
Suppose B to be placed in front of the fourth hoop (see Positions of Hoops, [Diagram No. 2]), and A, whose turn it is, to be behind No. 2;—many players would just go through No. 2, and then quietly drop down to No. 3, in the hope of passing through at the next turn. A thoughtful player, however, would, by driving his ball sharply through hoop No. 2, obtain a position close to B, and next, taking a second turn for going through the hoop, would be able to croquet B, and drive him a long way off his hoop, and then return to a good position behind No. 3.
The [following position] will show one of the advantages of the loose croquet. It is the turn of the ball C to play, and he has to go through the hoop e in the direction e A. In his present position it is impossible for him to go through the hoop at one turn. If, however, he croquets D, and then indulges in the loose croquet, he can drive his own ball to B, and send the other to A. He can then pass through the hoop, and can croquet D again at the spot A.