Table Top Croquet Hot New Party Game

The latest party game for PSL.net is Table Top Croquet.  This game is just croquet played on a table with special small mallets, wickets, posts and balls. It can be played with two to eight players, in teams or as singles. Contact us and we will get you the equipment you need to play Table Top Croquet today.

This physically active and mentally challenging game allows you to have fun while interacting in a social setting. The game is played on a normal table covered with a tablecloth (green is preferable). Each player takes turn creating a course on the table and defining certain rules. These rules are a subset within the overall rule set of Tabletop Croquet. Producing the course architecture and establishing the parameters of the play is a creative part to the game and to some people is a fun part of the game. Each designer sets up wickets, posts and obstacles on the tablecloth to establish a course. They indicate areas that are out of bounds and the path that each player must take to complete the course which usually ends at a final post.

The overall rule set includes some special Tabletop Croquet rules that are unique to this game inherited from normal croquet. When bumping another player’s ball the Tabletop Croquet rules let the bumping player gets to send the other player’s ball and gets another turn. When a player knocks their own ball off the table they forfeit all their turn, lose their next turn and they set their ball on the edge to indicate where it went out of bounds. The ball is not really there and should be moved if it’s in the way then replaced at the start of the next turn. If the designer has designated any other poison obstacles the player striking that object follows the out of bounds rules. After losing their turn they place the ball one mallet length away from where they struck the obstacle. If a player sends or bumps another player’s ball out of bounds they do not get to continue their turn.

When a wicket is moved by a ball it is usually not reset until that player goes through it, unless another player behind him is going through the same wicket and wants it replaced. Obstacles are replaced when moved unless otherwise declared movable by the designer of the course during declaration of the rules. Wrinkles in the cloth should only be flattened before play, unless caused during play when they should be immediately fixed.

The best advice for strategy of play consists of not going for too much. It is sometimes better to go for a set up shot rather than try to go through the wicket, possibly miss and go past it. Watch out for becoming fodder. Avoid being right in front of someone else on the path because if they bump the ball, they can send it and get another turn. Be careful not to go off the table or hit any poison obstacles because a loss of turn allows everyone else to get two turns in a row. When designing a course it should not be too easy where a player can breeze through in a couple turns or too hard where it is impossible to complete.

After a game is done there can be constructive judgment on the attributes of that particular course and if it should be used again. With time permitting a course is usually played a couple of times, more if it is unusually good. The designer of the course gets to decide who chooses the order of play. That person decides what player goes first, second etc. This way the designer does not have an advantage. When playing the same course the winner decides the order of play.

Tabletop Croquet parties are lots of fun. People can get together to play a great game that has a different layout every time they play. The game should be considered a model for good sportsmanship to be enjoyed as a healthy way to have a good time in the spirit of friendly competition. To get more information, borrow the equipment or start a TTC party contact us at PSL.net.