Connecticut eXtreme Croquet Society Rules

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Official Rules

of the

Connecticut eXtreme
Croquet Society^TM

Revision: March 22, 2013

Board of Regents

Robert Warseck, Chairman
R. Bruce Fitzgerald
Thomas Jones
Michael R. Warseck, Webmaster
Mitch Kutys
John Warseck
Phil Evans, ESQ - Legal Counsel
Brian Bosch

Contact

Web Site: www.extremecroquet.org
E-mail: rwarseck@att.net
Phone: (941) 306-5480

Copyright © 2000 - 2013 by Connecticut eXtreme Croquet Society. All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Copyright Service Registration No. TXu933-890

The Game

The game is to be played by a minimum of three players if possible. It is usually played on the standard 12-wicket croquet course, but the rules are the same (with small scoring modifications that will not be covered here) for the 9-wicket layout.

The object of the game is to score the most aggregate points in a defined time period. Any number of events can define this period: 1) Specific number of games; 2) Time limit; 3) Darkness; 4) High tide; 5) etc. The player with the most points at the end is determined to be the winner of the match.

Scoring
There are a wide variety of events that will lead to players garnering either positive or negative points. Some of the terms used in the scoring will not be well-defined until the rules sections, so initially it is probably best to simply look at the scoring parameters with an eye to checking back as the appropriate rules/definitions are read. The scoring events will be listed in order of the likelihood of actually happening, rather than a list from most to least points.

Positive Scores
First Poison: The first player to complete all the wickets (including the exit plane of the final wicket) in the correct order without hitting the poison post or rolling into any wicket plane or body on the same shot will be declared first poison (see 3.00 Poison) and will receive six points. Should the first player completing the last wicket also hit the poison post or roll into any wicket plane or body on the same shot, he/she will not receive the six points, nor will anyone else: there will be no first poison score in that game. The player will also not receive minus five for suicide (see 4.00 suicide), as he/she was indeed poison when eliminated.

Draws: At any point all players still in the game may agree to draw the game. If only two players remain, each will receive one point. With three or more players still in the game, no draw points are awarded.

Outright Winner: Any player who eliminates another player in any manner and becomes the last player in the game will receive seven points. This does not include being the last player by virtue of suicide of an opponent (see Back-in Winner).

Back-in Winner: Any player who is the last player in the game by virtue of an opponent's suicide (the method of suicide is irrelevant—see 4.0 Suicide), will receive five points, if the player has completed the last corner wicket. If the last player has not completed the last corner wicket and/or other earlier wickets, the player will get five points minus one for the uncompleted single wicket and minus two for an uncompleted double wicket, but will score a minimum of two points.

Poison Assassination: Any non-poison player who roquets a non-poison opponent into a poison ball will receive eleven points.

Post Assassination: Any non-poison player who roquets a non-poison opponent into the poison post will receive eight points. An exception to this rule occurs if a player is roqueted into the poison post before completing the first two wickets. That player will receive minus three points and the player causing the kill will receive positive three points. The game will then be immediately restarted with no additional scores or penalties, except the eliminated player will be first instead of last (with minus points the player would normally play last in the next game) to play in the next game.

First Turn Kill: Any player who becomes poison and eliminates another player on the same shot receives three points in addition to any other scores.

Multiple Kills: Any player who eliminates two players on the same shot (not including him/herself) will receive four points in addition to any other scores.

Stupidity Kill: Any player who is driven into the poison post before completing the first corner wicket will receive minus three points, while the player who eliminates him/her will receive three points. That game ends and a new game will start immediately (this rule was developed to punish any player who can't get through the first two wickets without rewarding any other player too highly; the rule also keeps the eliminated player from sitting out a game which might take a long time to complete).

Non-poison Player Eliminating Poison Player: Any non-poison player who eliminates a poison player (see 6.40 Momentum) will receive thirteen points. This elimination can happen via any of the normal ways in which a poison ball can be eliminated (see 3.20 Death of Poison).

Negative Scores
Suicide: Any non-poison player who eliminates him/herself in any manner, intentionally or by accident, will receive minus five points. This will be in addition to minus points for uncompleted wickets (see the next section: uncompleted wickets). An exception to this rule occurs if a player commits suicide before completing the first two wickets (obviously by making contact with the poison post). If a player commits suicide before completing the first two wickets (yes, it happens, and is usually quite stunning when it does happen), he/she will receive minus five points and all other players will receive either one or two positive points. Players who shot before the offender in the first game of the match will receive one point; those who shot after the offender in the first match will receive two points. In any other game the players who shot before the offender will receive two points and those who shot after the offender will get one point. In either case the game will immediately be restarted at this point with no additional scores or penalties, except that the suicidal player will play first in the next game.

No player is given minus five if his/her ball is driven into the poison post or a poison ball by another player's ball, as this is not suicide. The eliminated player will, however receive minus points for uncompleted wickets (see "Uncompleted Wickets" in the rules for Negative Scores).

No poison player ever receives minus five for suicide (see 4.00 Suicide).

Uncompleted Wickets: A player who is eliminated in any way before completing all wickets (except the last two wickets before the poison post) will receive minus one point for each single wicket and two points for each double wicket not completed to a maximum of minus seven points.

Failure to Approach the Wicket: (The Rule-of-Three): In a three(or more)-player game, if all remaining players but one (minimum two others) are poison, the remaining non-poison player has three random shots at his/her wicket. After these three shots, all following shots must end up closer to the entering plane of the correct wicket or the player will receive minus one point for each shot that doesn't. The poison players decide which shots did not finish closer to the wicket. If any part of the ball stops within the entering plane of the wicket from the correct direction (on the third shot), the player must complete the wicket on his/her next shot or suffer the minus one point penalty. If any part of the ball stops within the entering plane of the wicket from the wrong direction (on the third shot), the player must hit out of the plane and will suffer the minus one point penalty automatically, no matter where the ball stops. When the player completes the wicket, the process starts again at the next wicket. Should there ever be only one poison player left in the game, the Rule-of-Three immediately loses effect.

Poison Lap: A player who does not complete the final Turn wicket outbound before any other player or players become poison will get minus one point for each other player who becomes poison before completion of the final Turn wicket outbound.

Turn Death: A player who is eliminated in any way before completing the Turn will get minus one point.

Lap: A player who has not completed the second center wicket outbound before any other completes it inbound will get minus one point for each other player who completes it inbound.

All positive and negative scores are cumulative through each game. Thus, a player might get eight points for a post assassination plus one for a draw. One might also get minus one for being lapped, but plus five for a back-in victory.

Rules of Play
1.00 Order of play.

Any method of determining order of play in the first game will suffice (coin toss, ranking, home course advantage, beauty, etc.), but the official determination is as follows: all players strike their balls at the same time from the same distance at the same target (usually the poison post). The closest to the target will go last, second closest will go next-to-last, etc. In all subsequent games the order will be determined by the scoring in the previous game: the player who scores the most will go first, the player who scores second most will go second, etc. Should two or more players score the same, they would keep the order they had in the previous game. Keep in mind that players who score negative total points have scored less than those who scored nothing.

The first player through the first two wickets can decide which corner wicket will then be the next wicket, either the left or right corner wicket. The same wicket may only be chosen two games in a row.

2.00 Sequence of turn.

A player will strike his/her ball with any part of the mallet (except the bottom). This includes the faces, the sides, or the handle (including the tip, known as the "cue" shot). Any time any player's mallet touches any ball in any way for any reason, unless the contact was determined to be inadvertent, that player will have used his/her next shot. No contact will be deemed inadvertent if it is the offending player's turn and the player is set to shoot. Should the contact have occurred with an opponent's ball, see 9.10 Penalties (Exception: should the contact occur while searching for a ball in a terrain hazard [see7.00 Obstacles and Hazards], there is no penalty). After striking his/her ball that player's turn will then be over unless one or more of the following occurs:

2.10 Completion of a wicket.

Should a player pass completely through any number of wickets in the correct order, he/she will get one additional shot for each single wicket completed and/or two additional shots for any double wicket completed in the correct order and the correct direction (if the crossbar in the double wicket is knocked loose by the ball while going through, the player will have only one additional shot, even if it appears that the ball went through the top level). A wicket will be considered completed if the ball has completely passed through the entering plane of the wicket. The ball need not be through the exiting plane for the wicket to be considered completed (except the final poison wicket, both planes of which must be completed). Should the ball pass through the entering plane and roll back (the honor system rules here), it will be considered through and the wicket completed (through forward progress).

If a player completes any wicket in correct order (excluding the very first wicket and all Turn wickets except the last Turn wicket outbound) and on the same shot or the immediate next shot completes another wicket in correct order, that player will receive an additional "bonus shot" (in addition to the normal additional shots for completing wickets). The additional "bonus shot" cannot be taken on the same turn that the wickets are completed, but must be taken during one of the player's next two turns. Of course, the normal additional shots for completing wickets must be taken immediately.

If the "bonus" wicket completed is a single wicket or the bottom wicket in a double wicket, the rule reads as above. If the "bonus" wicket completed is the top wicket in a double wicket, the player (in addition to the " bonus shot" described above) will get yet an additional "bonus shot" to be taken only on the third turn following the completion of the original turn. In other words, the player will never be able to take both earned "bonus shots" on the same turn.

If a player completes a double wicket in the correct order, two options are available to him/her: 1) the player may take two extra shots immediately; or 2) the player may take one extra shot and put the other "in the bank". This extra shot is available to the player at any time in the game (except when he/she becomes poison—the banked shot is lost when a player becomes poison). The banked shot may be used for two different purposes: 1) as above, the player may take an extra shot at any point in the game; 2) the player may use his/her banked shot to stop another player from using his/her banked shot.

There are two limitations to use of the banked shot: 1) a player may only have one shot "in the bank" at any time; 2) should a player complete a double wicket while having a shot in the bank, he/she will only get one extra shot for the double wicket instead of the usual two. In other words the player must use the banked shot before being allowed to get two shots from another double wicket.

2.20 Hitting a Turn post.

Should a player hit any Turn post (most courses, of course, have only one) in correct order, he/she will get one extra shot from wherever the ball stops. Should any balls be roqueted on the same shot, normal ball-choice rules will be followed (see 2.30 Roqueting a live ball).

2.30 Roqueting a live ball(s).

Should a player roquet (striking one's own ball into one or more opponent's balls) any number of live balls (see 5.00 Deadness), that player will have his/her choice (unless the player is poison, since poison can never have ball-choice) of which of the involved balls to play (either the original roqueting ball or any of the live roqueted balls, but only balls roqueted by the player's original ball), The player will get one additional shot for each ball roqueted by the original ball plus any additional shots accrued by any chosen ball (unless the roqueting player is poison, since poison can never accrue more than one additional shot under any circumstances).

Example 1. Player A roquets two balls and chooses to play the original roqueting ball: Player A will get two additional shots from where the roqueting ball stops (one shot for each roquet).

Example 2. Player A roquets Player B's ball and completes a wicket on the same shot with his/her original ball: Player A can either take two additional shots with the original ball (one for the roquet and one for the completed wicket), or, having chosen Player B's ball for strategic reasons, take one shot for the roquet. Should Player A choose Player B's ball, Player B will now have Player A's original ball and will have completed the wicket. Player A will not have completed the wicket, but will have another shot because of the roquet.

Example 3. Player A roquets Player B's ball through a wicket and into Player C's ball without Player A's original ball going through the wicket: Player A may continue to use the original ball with one shot for the roquet and Player B would have completed the wicket. Player A may also choose Player B's ball, getting one shot for the original roquet, one shot for completing the wicket, and one shot for roqueting Player C's ball with the chosen ball. Player B would get Player A's original ball and would not be through the wicket. Player A may not choose Player C's ball, as only a ball roqueted by the original ball may be chosen.

2.40 All shot bonuses are cumulative

There are no limits to the number of shots which can be accumulated (except in the case of a poison player, who can never have more than one additional shot under any circumstances).

2.50 There are no "croquet" shots as traditionally defined.
Under these rules, balls are never picked up and moved unless specified in momentum rules, penalty rules, or hazard/out-of-bounds rules.

3.00 Poison.

3.10 Becoming poison.

When a player completes the last wicket in order (passing through both the entering and exiting planes), that player is poison. Should the player also hit the poison post or roll into either a wicket plane or body on the same shot, that player is still considered poison, but is eliminated from the game (without receiving six points for first poison, should that player have been the first player through the poison wicket: no player will get the six points in this situation). If the player was roqueted through the final wicket, see rule 6.50 under Momentum.

3.20 Hitting the poison post.

If any player at any time in the game hits or is driven into the poison post, that player is out of the game and his/her ball vanishes immediately without momentum (see 6.00 Momentum: if that player's ball continues to move after hitting the poison post and roquets any other balls, the roqueted balls are picked up and returned to their original positions). The only exception to this rule is when a player's ball is roqueted through the last poison wicket in order into the poison post (see 6.50). That player will be immediately eliminated, but the ball will continue to have momentum. The eliminated player will receive any bonuses from events caused by his/her ball. For example, should a player be driven through the final wicket into the poison post, the player will become poison, will be eliminated but might bounce off the poison post and hit another ball, killing it. All balls in this rare event will continue to have momentum until all balls stop moving.

3.30 Elimination of other players by poison ball.

The poison players can eliminate any other player, poison or non-poison, by simply roqueting that player's ball. The roqueted ball is removed immediately from the game. Should the roqueted ball hit another ball or balls after being eliminated, the moved balls will be returned to their original positions, as the eliminated ball is considered to have vanished instantly without momentum. The roqueting poison player will then get one additional shot (but never more than one, no matter how many balls roqueted at one time).

When a poison player eliminates the only other remaining ball, he/she has obtained an outright win and seven points at the instant of contact (should the poison ball continue moving and eliminate itself, the player is still awarded an outright win, as the death of poison occurred after the victory).

3.40 Death of poison.

3.41 If any poison ball is roqueted by another poison ball, the roqueted ball is eliminated from the game, vanishing immediately without momentum.

3.42 If any poison ball hits any post or wicket, or breaks either the entering or exiting plane of any wicket, the poison ball is eliminated from the game immediately without momentum.

3.43 A poison ball can be eliminated by a non-poison ball only through momentum (see 6.40 Momentum), but can be eliminated in that event by any of the Death of Poison rules.

3.44 If the suicide of any player results in only one player remaining in the game, the remaining player is deemed to have a back-in victory and is awarded five points (or less as adjusted in "Positive Scores, Back-In Winner").

4.00 Suicide.

Any time a player causes his/her own elimination in any way, intentionally or not, he/she has committed suicide. Any non-poison player who commits suicide will receive minus five suicide points, plus an additional minus one suicide point for each single wicket and minus two points for each double wicket not completed (excluding the two final wickets), to a maximum of an additional minus seven points. Poison players are never given minus five for suicide, but are simply removed from the game without momentum.

4.10 If any non-poison player strikes his/her ball into a poison ball, the non-poison player has committed suicide and his/her ball vanishes immediately without momentum. The poison ball and any other balls roqueted after hitting the poison ball are returned to their original positions.

4.20 If any player, poison or non-poison, strikes his/her ball into the poison post at any time he/she has committed suicide and his/her ball vanishes without momentum.

4.30 No player is given minus five if his/her ball is driven into the poison post or a poison ball by another player's ball, as this is not suicide.

5.00 Deadness.

Deadness occurs when Player A roquets Player B's ball and takes an additional shot for the roquet. Player A is then "Dead" on Player B. Player A may not get an additional shot for roqueting Player B's ball again until Player A completes a wicket in or a Turn post in correct order. The act of completing the wicket or post "cleanses" Player A's ball of deadness on all balls and allows him/her to roquet any ball for an additional shot again. Of course, any player may roquet another player's ball at any time, but there will be no additional shot if the roqueting player is dead on the roqueted player. Note that deadness is tracked on players, not balls, as a player may change balls any number of times in a game because of ball-choice after roquets (see 2.30 Roqueting a live ball).

6.00 Momentum

Momentum is the continued movement of balls after roqueting or being roqueted by other balls. The resulting momentum actions are dependent on whether or not any poison balls are involved.

6.10 If only non-poison balls are involved, all balls have momentum and continue movement until they come to rest or are eliminated in some way (if eliminated they lose momentum). Play is carried on from there according to normal roquet rules.

6.20 If a non-poison ball roquets a poison ball or hits the poison post, the non-poison ball vanishes immediately, is out of the game, and has no momentum: the poison ball and any other balls roqueted after the original ball hit the poison post or roqueted the poison ball are returned to their original positions.

6.30 If a poison ball roquets any ball, poison or non-poison, the roqueted ball vanishes instantly, is out of the game, and has no momentum. The roqueting poison ball continues its movement until it comes to rest or eliminates itself. If the poison ball eliminates itself, it loses momentum.

6.40 A poison ball can never be given momentum by a non-poison ball with one extremely rare exception. Should a non-poison ball roquet another non-poison ball into a poison ball, the poison ball will then have momentum and will continue movement until it comes to rest or is eliminated. The roqueted non-poison ball will vanish instantly without momentum after hitting the poison ball and the original roqueting player will receive eleven points for the poison assassination, plus any additional points that might accrue in the movement of the poison ball (victory points, post assassination, etc).

6.50 Should a player's ball be roqueted through the last poison wicket in order, that player will be eliminated, but his/her ball will become poison and will have momentum. Any balls roqueted after this event will also have momentum. The eliminated player will receive any scores resulting from any events caused by the momentum.

The roqueted player will receive any scores resulting from the ball not chosen by the striking player. Scores will be assessed only after all balls come to rest. This is the only time when eliminated balls do not vanish without momentum. Needless to say, when this situation can arise, players must pay very close attention to what hits what when. This includes watching to see if the original struck ball goes through the last poison wicket, as many complications can arise with ball choice rules if that ball also becomes poison.

6.60 Momentum rules are not as complicated as they sound. Mostly, common sense is involved.

7.00 Hazards and equipment.

7.10 Hazards.

Hazards can be either immovable or movable. However, in the course of the game nothing can be moved at any time. Only after completion of a game can movable hazards be removed, if it is agreed upon by all players. With this exception, no part of any hazard may be moved or altered in any way, except as the result of a shot or a search for a lost ball.

7.20 Equipment (Unused and extra).

Unused and extra equipment is considered out of play and can be moved at any time by any player. If equipment should have been moved but was not, it is considered in play. Any player who moves or places equipment (including, but not limited to, mallets, beer bottles, etc.) in the path of a moving ball will be suitably punished according to local rules and customs.

7.30 Equipment in use (Changing the course)

No course changes are allowed except between games as agreed to by a majority of players.

8.00 Picking up balls.

Balls are never picked up and moved, except as noted in the rules on momentum and penalties. The only exception to this is when a ball is out-of-bounds as locally defined or declared unplayable. Should either of these events occur, the ball is left as is until the player's next shot. At the commencement of the player's next shot, the ball is picked up and held in hand. This constitutes that player's shot. At the commencement of that player's next shot (if the player is non-poison), the ball is put into play and played immediately. If the player is poison, the ball is placed immediately in play (not held "in-hand"). In other words, if the player is non-poison, the ball is in play until picked up and in hand, at which point it is out of play until dropped. Other players cannot shoot at the ball until the ball is put back into play. Poison players are back in play immediately and can be shot at.

Balls being put back into play are either placed in defined drop zones or dropped at the closest playable spot that does not help the player. No player will ever get a reasonable shot at a wicket or post after dropping from out-of-bounds or an unplayable lie unless a previously defined drop spot/zone allows such a reasonable shot. The non-offending players will decide where the "closest playable spot" is if there are no defined drop zones.

9.00 Penalties and Irregularities.

A number of infractions and irregularities can occur which are herein addressed.

9.10 Striking another player's ball instead of one's own.

All balls are replaced in their original positions and the offending player's turn is over immediately. Should the player have any additional shots earned earlier, they may not be taken. The player also will miss his/her next turn.

If the contact with another player's ball occurs while looking for a lost ball, or if the contact is deemed inadvertent, there is no penalty.

9.11 Striking another player's ball before striking one's own.

All balls are replaced in their original positions and the offending player's turn is over immediately. Should the player have additional shots earned earlier, they may not be taken. The player also will miss his/her next turn.

If the contact with another player's ball occurs while looking for a lost ball or if the contact is deemed inadvertent, there is no penalty. There is never "inadvertency" when a player is set up to strike a ball.

9.12 Striking another player's ball after striking one's own (striking two balls on the same shot).

All balls are replaced in their original positions and the offending player's turn is over immediately.

9.20 Knocking out wickets or posts.

9.21 Knocking out wickets or posts with a ball.

Knocking out wickets or posts with a ball. The wicket or post is replaced (see 10.00 Fixing and replacing wickets) and the player's shot is considered taken without any additional bonus shots available (this includes roquet bonuses). The player has not completed any wickets or posts on this shot (even if it appears that the ball completed the wicket or hit the post). Should the player have additional shots earned earlier, however, they may be taken. Should the player roquet any other balls, he/she will not get any additional shots, but will be considered dead on the roqueted player.

9.22 Knocking out wickets or posts with a mallet.

The wicket or post is replaced (see 10.00 Fixing and replacing wickets or posts) and the player's turn is over immediately without any additional shots available (this includes additional shots for any roquets). The player has not completed any wickets or posts on this shot (even if it appears that the ball completed the wicket and/or hit the post), will not be allowed to take any additional shots earned before the infraction, and will be dead on any roqueted balls. The player will also lose his/her next turn.

9.30 Hitting a wicket or post with the mallet before striking the ball, missing the ball          completely, or Balking.

9.31 Hitting any wicket or post with one's mallet (except during a "cue" shot or a "drop" shot [sliding the mallet down the post to hit one's ball when up against the post and keeping the mallet in contact with the post until contact is made with the ball--this is the only time the bottom of the mallet can be used on any shot], or on the player's very first shot of the game) before striking one's ball.

All balls are returned to their original positions and the player's turn is considered over. No additional shots earned earlier may be taken.
9.32 Missing the ball completely by virtue of hitting only a wicket or post.

If this event occurs with any shot other than a "cue" shot or "drop" shot, the penalty is resolved as in 9.31. Should this event occur during a "cue" or "drop" shot, it is considered a Balk (see 9.33 Balks).
9.33 Balks.

Missing the ball completely (hitting only air); stopping a swing part way through the forewing; hitting the ground without also moving the ball (if the ball moves at all, the shot is considered completed without penalty); or missing the ball by hitting a post or wicket without also moving the ball during a cue shot or a drop shot are all considered Balks. The offending player makes another attempt to strike the ball as normal and complete his/her turn, but must miss one of his/her next three shots. All players are responsible for keeping count of shots taken.

9.40 Pushing or pulling balls.

Both are illegal, immoral, and without honor and are punishable anywhere on the continuum from returning the ball to its original position and loss of turn to simple derision, depending on the severity of the push or pull and the competitive level of the game.
9.50 Completing any wicket or Turn post in the incorrect order or direction.

9.51 Completing any wicket or Turn post in the incorrect order or direction, but not          taking an additional shot.

Play continues without penalty or benefit.
9.52 Completing any wicket or Turn post in the incorrect order or direction and          taking an additional shot.

Should a player complete the wrong wicket or Turn post and play continue for one complete player-turn cycle without the error being noted, play will continue without penalty. If the error is noted before completion of one complete player-turn cycle, the offending player will lose one shot for each incorrect wicket or Turn post completed and one shot for any dead balls roqueted for which bonus shots were taken. All incorrect wickets and Turn posts will be considered not completed.

In other words, the player is assumed to have gone out of turn some number of times and will miss enough shots to cover the number of turns taken "out of turn".

9.60 Hitting a ball twice.

9.61 Hitting a ball a second time when it's in the air. Play continues without penalty. This rule holds unless the ball touches anything else before the second hit (including ground, trees, rocks, the striking player, etc.). If this occurs, all balls are placed back in their original position and the player's turn is over immediately. No wickets or posts are considered completed.

9.62 Hitting a ball a second time when it's on the ground. All balls are returned to their original positions and the offending players' turn is over immediately. No wickets or post are considered completed.

9.63 Hitting the ball a second time (in the air or on the ground) after the ball ricochets off the turn post. All balls are returned to their original positions, the player's turn is over immediately, and the post is considered not completed.
9.70 Hitting oneself with one's ball.

9.71 Hitting oneself with one's ball. All balls are returned to their original positions and the offending player's turn is over immediately.

9.72 Hitting oneself with the ball without first hitting the turn post. All balls are returned to their original positions and the offending player's turn is over immediately.

9.73 Hitting oneself with the ball after the ball ricochets off the turn post. All balls are returned to their original positions, the offending player's turn is over and that player loses his/her next turn (the stupidity rule).

Should there be an infraction of Rule 9.63 and Rule 9.73 on the same shot, Rule 9.73 will take precedence.
9.80 Hitting moving balls.

9.81 If a player's ball moves before he/she starts his/her fore swing, the ball is replaced. If it moves again before the start of the back swing, the player's shot is over. Additional shots earned earlier may still be taken.

9.82 If a player's ball moves after the fore swing is started, the player continues the shot with no penalty (unless an infraction such as a balk occurs).

9.83 If a player when going out of turn (by definition if another ball is still moving, the player has gone out of turn) roquets a moving ball with his/her ball, no additional shots are available, the original player (i.e., the roqueted player) gets his/her choice of either to retake the shot (with all balls placed back in their original positions) or continue play with his/her ball having momentum. The offending player's ball is automatically replaced in the original position and he/she loses his/her next shot. This rule does not affect the roquet of a ball caused to move by the striking player with his/her ball during his/her turn. This would be treated as a normal roquet and an extra shot could be earned.

10.00 Fixing or replacing leaning, broken, or removed wickets or posts.

During his/her turn, any player may straighten, tighten, or otherwise fix any wicket or post, provided the action does not move any balls. Should a wicket be taken out during play and a ball cover the entry point, the wicket will be placed in the original holes and the ball placed against the outside edge of the wicket, the center plane of the ball lined up with the center plane of the wicket. If a post is taken out in play and a ball cover the entry point, the post is replaced and the ball placed one mallet's length away in any direction from the post by a majority of the non-offending players.

11.00 Replacing broken balls.

The striking player must immediately replace the largest piece of the broken ball with a new ball. The player will get all bonuses accrued by any pieces of the broken ball, with no limit to the number of shots so obtained. Normal ball-choice rules will pertain.

Example: Player A strikes his/her ball, which splits. The larger half goes through the correct wicket, the smaller half spins off and hits Player B's ball. Player A must immediately replace the larger half with a new ball. Player A could choose either ball and would get the benefits of both pieces, i.e., he/she would be through the wicket, have ball choice, and would get two shots with either ball.

12.00 Giving and receiving information.

12.10 Any player when asked must tell for which wicket or post he/she is going (in traditional croquet, which wicket the player "is for").

12.20 No player who asks need be told for which wicket he/she is going (until he/she attempts to take an additional shot for completing the wrong wicket).

12.30 All relevant players are responsible for keeping track of deadness if no deadness board is available. If a deadness board is available, all players are responsible for it.

12.40 All players are responsible for keeping count of Balk turns.

12.50 A 67% majority rules when new rulings, interpretations, or local decisions (drop zones, out-of-bounds, etc.) must be made.

12.60 The honor system rules in all cases.

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