I have fond childhood memories of playing croquet at my summer home with my family,
including my parents, my grandparents, and my siblings. Regardless of rain or shine, sun or darkness, we could be found on the front lawn playing croquet or horseshoes. Now that I have a growing family of my own, I want to instill the same sense of happiness with the outdoors in my family. My baby girl may only be 6 weeks old, but finding the right outdoors games and activities is on my mind now more than ever. Baden’s Champions Series Croquet Set is the perfect addition to my collection of outdoor family games. Its high quality and durability will ensure that my family will have years of use yet the price isn’t hard on the bank account.
Croquet is a game played on lawns with lightweight equipment, 9 wickets, 2 stakes, and the course is layed out in a traditional double diamond shape. The wickets are metal or wire pieces that look like miniature arches and are located throughout the croquet course. You must move your ball along the course by hitting it through the various croquet wickets. You eventually win the game by being “pegged out” which means your balls hit the finishing stake. Other croquet equipment includes the mallets, balls, and flags.
The Champions Series Croquet Set includes 6 maple mallets with soft, rubber, color-coded grips that provide durability and precision play. There are 9 vinyl coated 7mm diameter heavy duty wickets, 2 end posts, and 6 resin colored balls. The durable, nylon, water-proof carrying bag holds the set for storage or travel and the inside pockets organize each item. The included rule-book explains court setup and gameplay.
After playing in the park and being transported back to childhood, I was very impressed with the quality of all the items in the set. My husband and I gave the set a good workout and all parts and pieces performed flawlessly. Nothing chipped or showed any wear. The padded mallets felt great and I don’t foresee getting the “rack callus” on my hands. As our family grows and barbecues, yard parties and birthday parties, and relaxing, outdoor evenings become a regular occurrence, Baden’s Champions Series Croquet Set will be part of our family.
You can check out Baden Sports on Facebook.
Croquet is certainly a very good family game! It can also be very competitive.
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There’s nothing wrong with a little competition 😉
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Great game – but it can get personal!
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I haven’t played croquet in so many years that I’m not even sure I would remember how to play. It was certainly one of my favorite childhood summer games, though!
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I have to admit I checked over the rules again myself, but it was easy to get back into it 🙂
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while growing up, I spent many a summer day/evening playing croquet in our backyard..It’s such a fun game..
PS-I’m late but congrats on the birth of your little princess 🙂
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Thank you! We are all healthy and happy. She’s even had her first beach day adventure and it went swimmingly. 😉
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Big in our front yard too!
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I’ve always wanted to buy a vintage croquet set. I’ve never actually played though.
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It’s easy to learn; you should check it out 🙂
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My teen years evolved around playing croquet with my friends…we even had a few of our own rules …brought back good memories ~mkg
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We’ve been known to add a twist to the rules as well, but that was more in my adult years and alcohol was usually involved 😉
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I like croquet too Lesley. However, my lawn has a surface like the moon, which doesn’t do well for croquet.
Martin
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Living in a condo, we don’t exactly have a lawn, but the park is our backyard. Sometimes it’s the “bad” surfaces that make the game more interesting 🙂
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We recently picked up a set. My wife and two youngest boys had a match the other night. I think when they first saw the set they were thinking it was more like polo. Yet, after explaining the game, we still had a good time, and no trips to the emergency room from high sticking!
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With two boys, that can be an accomplishment 😉
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I just knew there was a reason my husband and I have been fussing over our one section of back yard lawn, when the rest has gone over to perennial beds and veggies: we are getting a croquet set! Thanks so much for this inspiring article.
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Let me know how it goes 🙂
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I have such great memories of playing croquet on my neighbor’s lawn, as a kid! It’s a great family game. Enjoy!
— YUR
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I’m hoping that my daughter will have a similar story to tell 🙂
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Haha. I was playing that when I was a kid. Was always good fun and we used to cheat by relocating the goals. Always good fun!
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I haven’t seen anyone play croquet in decades. I thought it gave way to video games.
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I have great memories of croquet too. We had a wide, grassy front lawn which was perfect. Although you did have to dodge around the occasional bush or tree…who knew croquet could be an obstacle course???
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Love lawn games. My favorite- the Italian in me- is a good game of Bocci. Thanks for writing!
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Our family played that game all the time when I was a kid. Lots of fun and laughs! I came on to see about your baby…I see you’ve had her! Congrats, Lesley! As I was scrolling down I was thinking of how much fun we’ve had with Bocci..and then the person above me posted that! Great game! You don’t have snow where you are…but we loved playing Fox and Geese in the snow. Cost: $0 !
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I nominated your blog for the Sunshine Award! You can see your Award at http://meganchapple.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/brighten-up-my-day/
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Hi Lesley, I just sent you an email….I would really like to be part of this blog….thanks also for the likes…its appreciated 🙂
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I’ll get back to you later this evening when my husband gets home. Typing with one hand while feeding my daughter with the other can be complicated 😉
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Hey Lesley, no problems….your super busy….anyway thanks for replying…I’ll hear from you later today 🙂
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I LOVE croquet! It’s such a random
game but it’s always so fun! My dad likes to set it up with a obstacle course throughout, it’s awesome.
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I always liked playing croquet as a kid–haven’t played it in ages! It’s such a fun thing to do!
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As kids we played croquet in the backyard and badminton in the side yard…great times!!!
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You wouldn’t think croquet would be an extreme sport but the way you write about it makes it seem exciting. Thanks for the like on my blog!
Diana Bletter
Author of the forthcoming memoir, The Mom Who Took Off On Her Motorcycle
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Croquet is a great game to share with players of all ages. I still love knocking the other guy out of the way.
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We have played a lot of croquet as a family, even with young children around. It is fun and competitive.
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I’ve always enjoyed croquet, and it will forever remind me of Alice In Wonderland. Nice post, Lesley!
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Still have our old set from many, many years ago!! Last time we played was about 9 years ago! Time to dig them out and dust them off! You’ve inspired me!!
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Thanks for letting me camp out in your blog today. As always, I had a great time and tried to leave my campsite as clean as when I arrived.
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