The following is a glossary of traditional English-language terms used in the three overarching cue sports disciplines: carom billiards referring to the various carom games played on a billiard table without pockets ; pool , which denotes a host of games played on a table with six pockets; and snooker , played on a large pocket table, and which has a sport culture unto itself distinct from pool. There are also games such as English billiards that include aspects of multiple disciplines.
66-743: 51°53′08″N 2°04′07″W / 51.88542°N 2.068622°W / 51.88542; -2.068622 The Croquet Association , which was formed as the United All England Croquet Association in 1897, is the national governing body for the sport of croquet in England . Until 1974 the association was responsible for croquet in the whole of the United Kingdom . The Scottish Croquet Association, formed in 1974, now has responsibility for croquet in Scotland . At
132-408: A ball on a single break , while handicap versions give weaker players chances to continue play after making an error. The extra turns, called "bisques" are effective in levelling the odds of winning. Golf croquet is played between two individuals or teams, each playing with two balls. The object of the game is to reach a certain number of points, typically seven, earned by being the first to run
198-500: A ball traverses its prior wicket in the opposite direction, this now becomes its current wicket; exceptions: (1) a rover cannot be reverted; (2) until the ball remakes that wicket, it cannot be reverted again. • Nosering Rule (an admittedly stupid name, the origin lost to history): Once per game, or sometimes once per half, at the end of one's turn, one may move one's ball exactly one mallet head, except not into or thru any wicket in either direction, and not to be touching either stake. In
264-430: A croquet-like ground billiards game (balls on the ground, hoop, bats, and peg) being played over a short , garden-sized distance. The image's caption describes the game as "a curious ancient pastime", confirming that croquet games were not new in early-19th-century England. In Samuel Johnson 's 1755 dictionary, his definition of "pall-mall" clearly describes a game with similarities to modern croquet: "A play in which
330-674: A hiatus during the years 1883-1896 was reintroduced by the Croquet Association. This and the Golf Croquet Open Championship are the premier events in the UK of each code. The President's Cup was introduced in 1901, though at the time it was known as the Beddow Cup, named after A.E.Beddow, the trophy's donor. The President's Cup was an invitational rather than an open competition, and was contested between
396-656: A high arch of iron, which he that can do at the fewest blows, or at the number agreed upon, wins. It is to be observed that there are two of these arches, that is, one at either end of the alley. The game of mall was a fashionable amusement in the reign of Charles the Second, and the walk in Saint James's Park, now called the Mall, received its name from having been appropriated to the purpose of playing at mall, where Charles himself and his courtiers frequently exercised themselves in
462-416: A hoop. The game opens by playing each ball into the lawn from the fourth (south-eastern) corner of the lawn. Balls must be played in order (for the primary ball colours, this is blue, red, black, and yellow), and this order of play is maintained throughout the game. Hoops are contested in a fixed order, with a point awarded to the owner of the first ball to pass through the hoop in the correct direction. After
528-422: A particular game's rules for which a set penalty is imposed. In many pool games the penalty for a foul is ball-in-hand anywhere on the table for the opponent. In some games such as straight pool, a foul results in a loss of one or more points. In one-pocket, in which a set number of balls must be made in a specific pocket, upon a foul the player must return a ball to the table. In some games, three successive fouls in
594-417: A player might choose to avoid staking out (becoming a Rover ) in order to help a lagging teammate. Each time a ball is roqueted, the striker gets two bonus shots. For the first bonus shot, the player has four options: The second bonus shot ("continuation shot") is an ordinary shot played from where the striker ball came to rest. An alternative endgame is "poison": in this variant, a player who has scored
660-453: A player's ball is relocated by an unleashed dog, it shall be played from the location the dog released the ball. If the ball is released out of bounds, then the ball shall be played from the point (after adjusting for a mallet width from the boundary) it was removed from the field. • Dynamic Starting Order: After lagging to the stake for starting order, the players exercise the option to go or not go in order of closeness; after each player goes,
726-517: A point is awarded, all players move on to contest the next hoop. Balls that are played more than halfway to the next hoop before a point is scored are considered offside, and are moved to penalty areas. Golf croquet is the fastest-growing version of the game, owing largely to its simplicity and competitiveness. There is an especially large interest in competitive success among players in Egypt . By comparison with association croquet, golf croquet requires
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#1732780572367792-449: A row is a loss of game. In straight pool, a third successive foul results in a loss of 16 points (15 plus one for the foul). Possible foul situations (non-exhaustive): Also free shot . A situation where a player has fouled , leaving the opponent snookered . In UK eight-ball this would normally give the opponent the option of one of two plays: (1) ball-in-hand with two shots ; (2) being allowed to contact, or even pot ,
858-529: A smaller variety of shots and emphasises strategic skills and accurate shot-making. Games are shorter, balls are more likely to be hit harder, and 'jump' shots are more likely to be witnessed, where a ball is played to deliberately jump off the ground and over another ball. The American-rules version of croquet is the dominant version of the game in the United States and is also widely played in Canada . It
924-409: A team game, one may use a teammate's unused nosering move. • Alzheimer's Rule: Before or after hitting the ball, if that player or anyone else realizes that the player forgot their current wicket, stake, or other mandatory objective, the hit is retaken (if in fact it has been taken), except when croqueting another ball; all players have the obligation to point this out before the hit. • Act of Dog: If
990-721: Is governed by the United States Croquet Association . Its genesis is mostly in association croquet, but it differs in a number of important ways that reflect the home-grown traditions of American "backyard" croquet. Official rules were first published in 1894 by the Spalding Athletic Library, as adopted by the National American Croquet Association. American six-wicket uses the same six-wicket layout as both association croquet and golf croquet, and
1056-476: Is a competition for which players gain places through qualification by performing well in certain other events throughout the season. In the current format, there are eight qualification tournaments in which both finalists qualify for the 16-player final, held at the end of the season. These eight qualifiers make up what is called the Championship Series, which are chosen by the Croquet Association as
1122-498: Is also played by two individuals or teams, each owning two balls. Like association croquet, the object of the game is to be the first to pass each of their balls through all six hoops in both directions and to strike the central peg, for a total of 26 points. Unlike association croquet, balls are always played in the same sequence (blue, red, black, yellow). The limitation of roqueting each ball once between hoop points is, unlike in association croquet, carried over from turn to turn until
1188-410: Is arranged in a double-diamond pattern, with one stake at each end of the course. Players start at one stake, navigate one side of the double diamond, hit the turning stake, then navigate the opposite side of the double diamond and hit the starting stake to end. If playing individually ( Cutthroat ), the first player to stake out is the winner. In partnership play, all members of a team must stake out, and
1254-492: Is no coincidence that the game became popular at the same time as the cylinder lawn mower , since croquet can only be played well on a lawn that is flat and finely-cut. By the late 1870s, however, croquet had been eclipsed by another fashionable game, lawn tennis , and many of the newly created croquet clubs, including the All England Club at Wimbledon, converted some or all of their lawns into tennis courts . There
1320-626: Is the MacRobertson International Croquet Shield . It is contested every three to four years between Australia, England (formerly Great Britain), the United States, and New Zealand. Other nations compete in Tier 2 and Tier 3 World Team Championships. Teams are promoted and relegated between the lower tiers, but there is no relegation to or promotion from the MacRobertson Shield. The current holders of
1386-657: Is the booklet The Game of Croquet, its Laws and Regulations , which was published in the mid-1860s for the proprietor of Eglinton Castle, the Earl of Eglinton . On the page facing the title page is a picture of Eglinton Castle with a game of "croquet" in full swing. The croquet lawn existed on the northern terrace, between Eglinton Castle and the Lugton Water. The 13th Earl developed a variation on croquet named Captain Moreton's Eglinton Castle croquet, which had small bells on
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#17327805723671452-613: The British colonies in its recognizable form, croquet is, like pall-mall and trucco , among the later forms of ground billiards , which as a class have been popular in Western Europe back to at least the Late Middle Ages , with roots in classical antiquity , including sometimes the use of arches and pegs along with balls and mallets or other striking sticks (some more akin to modern field hockey sticks). By
1518-669: The Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169. By no later than the early 15th century, the game jeu de mail (itself ancestral to pall-mall and perhaps to indoor billiards ) was popular in France, including in the courts of Henry II in the 16th century and Louis XIV of the 17th. At least one version of it, rouët ('wheel'), was a multi-ball lawn game. Records show a game called "crookey", similar to croquet, being played at Castlebellingham in County Louth, Ireland, in 1834, which
1584-467: The United States ) embedded in a grass playing court. In all forms of croquet, individual players or teams take turns striking the balls, scoring points by knocking them through a hoop. The game ends when a player or team reaches a predetermined number of points. Several variations exist that differ in when and how a stroke may be legally played, when points are scored, the layout of the lawn, and
1650-459: The 12th century, a team ball game called la soule or choule , akin to a chaotic version of hockey or football (depending on whether sticks were used), was regularly played in France and southern Britain between villages or parishes; it was attested in Cornwall as early as 1283. In the book Queen of Games: The History of Croquet , Nicky Smith presents two theories of the origin of
1716-400: The 1900 Olympic croquet events, France claimed victory in all three competitions. Gaston Aumoitte won the one-ball singles, Chrétien Waydelich won the two-ball singles, and the doubles event was won by the pair of Gaston Aumoitte and Georges Johin, securing all the medals as all 10 participants were French. The oldest document to bear the word croquet with a description of the modern game is
1782-528: The 2013 AGM the association formally relinquished control of the game in the other parts of the United Kingdom . Presidents of the association have included Sir Compton Mackenzie , who was President from 1953 to 1966. The association controls the rules of the game, in conjunction with the croquet associations of Australia , New Zealand and the United States . It also controls the regulations of tournaments for its member clubs. The Open Championship (association) of croquet originally dates back to 1867, but after
1848-481: The Earl even launched his own Cassiobury brand croquet set. By 1867, Jaques had printed 65,000 copies of his Laws and Regulations of the game. It quickly spread to other Anglophone countries, including Australia , Canada , New Zealand , South Africa , and the United States . No doubt one of the attractions was that the game could be played by both sexes; this also ensured a certain amount of adverse comment. It
1914-580: The European Golf Croquet championship, and in October, Hanan Rashad of Egypt beat Yasser Fathy (also from Egypt) to win the World over-50s Golf Croquet championship. Croquet was an event at the 1900 Summer Olympics . Roque , an American variation on croquet, was an event at the 1904 Summer Olympics . Croquet is recognized as the first Olympic sport to include female participants. In
1980-866: The MacRobertson Shield are England, who won the title in 2023. At the Golf Croquet World Team Championships, eight nations contest the Openshaw Shield. There is promotion and relegation between Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3. The current holders of the Openshaw Shield are New Zealand, who won in 2020. The world's top 10 association croquet players as of October 2023 were Robert Fletcher (Australia), Robert Fulford (England), Paddy Chapman (New Zealand), Jamie Burch (England), Reg Bamford (South Africa), Matthew Essick (USA), Mark Avery (England), Simon Hockey (Australia), Harry Fisher (England), and Jose Riva (Spain). In April 2013, Reg Bamford of South Africa beat Ahmed Nasr of Egypt in
2046-565: The UK and also used in countries that were fairly recently part of the British Empire and/or are part of the Commonwealth of Nations , as opposed to US (and, often, Canadian ) terminology. The terms "American" or "US" as applied here refer generally to North American usage. However, due to the predominance of US-originating terminology in most internationally competitive pool (as opposed to snooker ), US terms are also common in
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2112-685: The UK, US, New Zealand, Australia, and Egypt; many other countries also play. Every four years, the top countries play in the World Team Championships in AC (the MacRobertson Shield ) and GC (the Openshaw Shield). The current world rankings show England in top place for AC, followed by Australia in second place, and New Zealand in third place, with the United States in fourth position. The same four countries appear in
2178-514: The UK, as a shorthand. Blackball was chosen because it is less ambiguous ("eight-ball pool" is too easily confused with the international standardized " eight-ball "), and blackball is globally standardized by an International Olympic Committee -recognized governing body , the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA); meanwhile, its ancestor, eight-ball pool, is largely a folk game, like North American bar pool , and to
2244-516: The ball is struck with a mallet through an iron ring". However, there is no evidence that pall-mall involved the croquet stroke, which is the distinguishing characteristic of the modern game. The second theory is that the rules of the modern game of croquet arrived in Ireland during the 1850s, perhaps after being brought there from Brittany , where a similar game was played on the beaches. Regular contact between Ireland and France had continued since
2310-520: The ball scores the next hoop. In American six-wicket, this is termed "deadness", and a separate board is required to keep track of the deadness for all four balls. A further difference is the more restrictive boundary-line rules of American croquet. In the American game, roqueting a ball out of bounds or running a hoop so that the ball goes out of bounds causes the turn to end, and balls that go out of bounds are replaced only nine inches (23 cm) from
2376-477: The baulk-line spot , etc. Also bigs , big balls , big ones . Also billiard shot . Also pool spectacles , snooker specs , etc. Also the black . Also the blue(s) . Also shake bottle , pea bottle , pill bottle , tally bottle , kelly bottle . Also bottomspin , bottom-spin , bottom . Also called-safe Also called-shot ; call-pocket or called-pocket . Also carambola . Not to be confused with
2442-509: The boundary rather than one yard (91 cm) as in association croquet. "Attacking" balls on the boundary line to bring them into play is thus far more challenging. Nine-wicket croquet, sometimes called "backyard croquet", is played mainly in Canada and the United States and is the game most recreational players in those countries call simply "croquet". In this version of croquet, there are nine wickets, two stakes, and up to six balls. The course
2508-499: The categorical statement, "One thing only is certain: it is from Ireland that croquet came to England and it was on the lawn of the late Lord Lonsdale that it was first played in this country." John Jaques apparently claimed in a letter to Arthur Lillie in 1873 that he had himself seen the game played in Ireland, writing, "I made the implements and published directions (such as they were) before Mr. Spratt [mentioned above] introduced
2574-425: The continuation of a break , and are re-spotted until the reds run out, after which the colours must be potted in their order: Also point of contact . Also counting rack , counter ball rack , etc. Also dog it . Also double elimination . Sometimes interchangeable with scratch , though the latter is often used only to refer to the foul of pocketing the cue ball. A violation of
2640-431: The disk-flicking traditional board game carrom , which is sometimes played with a small cue stick. Main article: Carom billiards Not to be confused with carom billiards . Also century break . Also coloured ball(s) , colour(s) ; American spelling color sometimes also used. 1. In snooker , any of the object balls that are not reds . A colour ball must be potted after each red in
2706-623: The eight consistently strongest Championship events (apart from the Open Championship). In 2004, the Open Championship was combined with the World Championship. Croquet Croquet ( UK : / ˈ k r oʊ k eɪ , - k i / or US : / k r oʊ ˈ k eɪ / ) is a sport which involves hitting wooden, plastic, or composite balls with a mallet through hoops (often called "wickets" in
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2772-577: The eight hoops "to ring the changes", two pegs, a double hoop with a bell, and two tunnels for the ball to pass through. In 1865, the 'Rules of the Eglinton Castle and Cassiobury Croquet' was published by Edmund Routledge . Several incomplete sets of this form of croquet are known to exist, and one complete set is still used for demonstration games in the West of Scotland. Croquet is popularly believed to be viciously competitive. That may derive from
2838-419: The extent that its rules have been codified, they have been done so by competing authorities with different rulesets. (For the same reason, the glossary's information on eight-ball, nine-ball , and ten-ball draws principally on the stable WPA rules, because there are many competing amateur leagues and even professional tours with divergent rules for these games.) Foreign-language terms are generally not within
2904-467: The fact that (unlike in golf) players will often attempt to move their opponents' balls to unfavourable positions. However, purely negative play is rarely a winning strategy; successful players (in all versions other than golf croquet) will use all four balls to set up a break for themselves, rather than simply making the game as difficult as possible for their opponents. The way croquet is depicted in paintings and books says much about popular perceptions of
2970-780: The final of the Golf Croquet World Championship in Cairo, becoming the first person to simultaneously hold the title in both association croquet and golf croquet. As of 2023, the Golf Croquet World Champion was Matthew Essick (USA), and the Women's Golf Croquet World Champion was Jamie Gumbrell (Australia). In 2018, two international championships open to both sexes were won by women: in May, Rachel Gee of England beat Pierre Beaudry of Belgium to win
3036-634: The game, though little about the reality of modern play. About 200 croquet clubs across the United States are members of the United States Croquet Association. Glossary of cue sports terms#break The term billiards is sometimes used to refer to all of the cue sports, to a specific class of them, or to specific ones such as English billiards; this article uses the term in its most generic sense unless otherwise noted. The labels " British " and " UK " as applied to entries in this glossary refer to terms originating in
3102-1016: The game. See the Seven-ball main article for the game. See the Eight-ball and Eight-ball pool (British variation) main articles for the games. See the Nine-ball main article for the game See the Ten-ball main article for the game Also apex ball , apex of the triangle , apex of the diamond or apex of the rack . Also backspin , back-spin , backward spin . Same as draw . See illustration at spin . Also balk space . Also balk line . Not always hyphenated. Plural: balls-on . Also on[-]ball . Also bar rules , pub pool , tavern pool . Also bar box , pub table , tavern table , coin-operated table , coin-op table . Also middle spot in baulk , baulk line spot , middle of
3168-458: The last wicket but not hit the starting stake becomes a "poison ball", which may eliminate other balls from the game by roqueting them. A non-poison ball that roquets a poison ball has the normal options. A poison ball that hits a stake or passes through any wicket (possibly through the action of a non-poison player) is eliminated. The last person remaining is the winner. The Richmond Virginia Extreme Croquet Club has these rules: • Revert Rule: If
3234-402: The lawn from one of two "baulk lines" defined as one yard into the lawn on the western half of the south boundary and the eastern half of the north boundary. After this, players elect at the start of each turn which of their two balls to play for the duration of that turn. During a turn, a player may earn extra shots in two ways. A player earns a single extra shot by scoring a hoop point (hitting
3300-450: The modern game of croquet, which took England by storm in the 1860s and then spread overseas. The first explanation is that the ancestral game was introduced to Britain from France during the 1660–1685 reign of Charles II of England, Scotland, and Ireland and was played under the name of paille-maille (among other spellings, today usually pall-mall ), derived ultimately from Latin words for 'ball and mallet' (the latter also found in
3366-509: The name of the earlier French game, jeu de mail ). This was the explanation given in the ninth edition of Encyclopædia Britannica , dated 1877. In his 1801 book The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England , Joseph Strutt described the way pall-mall was played in England at the time: "Pale-maille is a game wherein a round box[wood] ball is struck with a mallet through
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#17327805723673432-404: The player has a single further shot, known as the "continuation". During a turn, each of the other three balls may only be croqueted once between hoop points, but by stringing together a series of roquets, croquets, and scored hoops, several points may be scored in a single turn. Advanced variants of association croquet give further penalties to dissuade skilled players from running every hoop with
3498-406: The pool context in other countries in which English is at least a minority language, and US (and borrowed French) terms predominate in carom billiards . Similarly, British terms predominate in the world of snooker, English billiards , and blackball , regardless of the players' nationalities. The term "blackball" is used in this glossary to refer to both blackball and eight-ball pool as played in
3564-464: The practice of this pastime." While the name pall-mall and various games bearing this name also appeared elsewhere (France and Italy), the description above suggests that the croquet-like games in particular were popular in England by the early 17th century. Some other early modern sources refer to pall-mall being played over a large distance (as in golf); however, an image in Strutt's 1801 book shows
3630-611: The remaining players re-choose who goes next in the same order. • McKlintock Start, an option to start the game: A ball still on start 1-out or 2-out cannot be used to roquet another ball, nor can it be roquet'd without its owner's permission. Nevertheless, such a ball may hit any other ball or be hit by any other ball; however, the hitter's go is over and no deadness is established. As well as club-level games, county-level tournaments, and leagues, there are regular world championships and international matches between croquet-playing countries. The sport has particularly strong followings in
3696-639: The scope of this list, unless they have become an integral part of billiards terminology in English (e.g. massé ), or they are crucial to meaningful discussion of a game not widely known in the English-speaking world. See the Three-ball main article for the game. See the Four-ball billiards main article for the game. See the Nine-ball § Derived games section for
3762-732: The set of rules registered by Isaac Spratt in November 1856 with the Stationers' Company of London . This record is now in the Public Record Office . In 1868, the first croquet all-comers meet was held at Moreton-in-Marsh , Gloucestershire , and in the same year, the All England Croquet Club was formed at Wimbledon, London . Regardless of when and by what route it reached the British Isles and
3828-400: The striker's ball through a hoop), or two extra shots by causing their ball to contact another ball-an action called a "roquet". When a roquet is made, the player may pick up their ball and place it in contact with the roqueted ball. The next shot must move both the player's ball and the roqueted ball, and it is the "croquet" stroke that gives the game its name. After a successful croquet stroke,
3894-490: The subject to me." Whatever the truth of the matter, Jaques certainly played an important role in popularising the game, producing editions of the rules in 1857, 1860, and 1864. Croquet became highly popular as a social pastime in England during the 1860s. It was enthusiastically adopted and promoted by the Earl of Essex , who held lavish croquet parties at Cassiobury House , his stately home in Watford , Hertfordshire , and
3960-504: The target score. Commonly, social games adopt further non-standard variations to adapt play to the conditions. In all versions, players of all ages and genders compete on equal terms and are ranked together. Two versions of the game are directly governed by the World Croquet Federation , which organises individual and team World Championships. Other regional variants which developed in parallel remain common in parts of
4026-533: The top six of the GC country rankings, below Egypt in top position, and with Spain at number six. Individual World Championships usually take place every two or three years. The 2023 AC World Championships took place in London; the winner was Robert Fulford . The current Women's Association Croquet World Champion (2023) is Debbie Lines of England. The most prestigious international team competition in association croquet
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#17327805723674092-467: The top ten (now eight) croquet players chosen by the Croquet Association. The original cup became the property of Miss Dorothy Dyne Steel in 1933 after she won the competition for a record fourth time. A new cup was required for the 1934 competition and one was presented by then president, Trevor Williams, the competition being known as the President's Cup from that date. In 2001, the Open Championship
4158-411: The world. Association croquet is played between two individuals or teams, each playing with two balls. The object of the game is to be the first to strike each of their balls through all six hoops in both directions, in a fixed order, and to strike the central peg. Each of these actions scores a point, with the maximum score being 26 points. The first four turns must be taken to play the four balls onto
4224-562: Was a revival in the 1890s, but going forward croquet was always a minority sport, with national individual participation amounting to a few thousand players. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club still has a croquet lawn, but has not hosted any significant tournaments. Its championship was won 38 times by Bernard Neal . The English headquarters for the game is now in Cheltenham . The earliest known reference to croquet in Scotland
4290-547: Was combined with the World Championship. The Golf Croquet First Eight is also an invitational competition contested between the top eight croquet players chosen by the Croquet Association. First held in 2008, players originally competed for the Musk's Cup, but was replaced by the Ricki Savage Memorial Trophy as the tournament was no longer sponsored by Musks . The English National Singles Championship
4356-494: Was introduced to Galway in 1835 and played on the bishop's palace garden, and in the same year to the genteel Dublin suburb of Kingstown (today Dún Laoghaire ) where it was first spelled as "croquet". There is, however, no pre-1858 Irish document that describes the way the game was played; in particular, there is no reference to the distinctive croquet stroke, which is described above under " Variations: Association ". The noted croquet historian Dr. Prior, in his book of 1872, makes
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