March 11, 2026

When I was a child, I spent many hours playing a basketball game called Horse. This game could be played by two, sometimes three, people, was fun to play, and made everyone who played it a better basketball player.

Now my game is croquet. Horse is a great game with croquet, too. If you haven’t played this game before, here are the rules:

Croquet Horse Game

1. The croquet game H-O-R-S-E is very similar to the basketball game H-O-R-S-E and is played by two or more people. The first player to accumulate all five letters (H-O-R-S-E) loses, while the last player remaining wins. 
2. The first player (Player A) starts as the challenger and chooses a shot. If Player A misses the shot they attempt, Player B becomes the challenger and chooses a shot. 
3. If a challenger makes their shot, the other player must duplicate the exact same shot. If they miss, they get the letter "H”, and the challenger is challenger again and chooses another shot. 
4. The croquet game H-O-R-S-E can involve any number of game situation shots, including:

Whatever you do with croquet, play well and have fun!

Macey White

National Level Instructor and Referee

Macey White is a National Instructor and Referee for Golf Croquet and American 6-Wicket. He loves to play, teach, and compete in all forms of croquet. Macey spends his summers at the Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club in Virginia and his winters at the Grand Haven Croquet Club in Palm Coast Florida.