Lawn Game RULES

Nine-Wicket Croquet Court Layout

Place every wicket and stake from the MCA diagram, with a coordinate table and a proportional half court.

Read the full game rules

Layout and dimensions

MCA full court, 100 by 50 ft

Nine-Wicket Croquet court: MCA full court, 100 by 50 ftTop-down diagram of a nine-wicket croquet court 100 ft · 30.48 m long and 50 ft · 15.24 m wide, set out as a double diamond. A stake stands 6 ft · 1.83 m from each end on the centre line, with two wickets in front of it 6 ft · 1.83 m and 12 ft · 3.66 m away; each half has a pair of side wickets 6 ft · 1.83 m in from the side boundaries and 34 ft · 10.36 m from its own end, and the ninth wicket sits at the centre of the court. Wickets are numbered in the order a ball first runs them: out through 1 to 7 to the turning stake, then back through the far pair, the side wicket of the far diamond left over going out, the centre wicket, the side wicket of the near diamond left over going out, and the near pair to the finishing stake, so the centre wicket sits between the two leftover side wickets on the way home. The four balls play blue, red, black then yellow.123456789blue, red, black, yellow34 ft10.36 m100 ft30.48 m50 ft15.24 mstake: 6 ft from each end, on the centre linestake: 1.83 m from each end, on the centre linewickets 1 and 2: 6 ft and 12 ft from the stakewickets 1 and 2: 1.83 m and 3.66 m from the stakeside wickets: 6 ft in from a side boundaryside wickets: 1.83 m in from a side boundarywickets numbered in the order a ball first runs them20 ft6.1 m12345678934 ft10.36 m100 ft30.48 m50 ft15.24 mstake: 6 ft from each endstake: 1.83 m from each endwickets 1, 2: 6 ft and 12 ft from the stakewickets 1, 2: 1.83 m and 3.66 m from the stakeside wickets: 6 ft in from a side boundaryside wickets: 1.83 m in from a side boundarywickets numbered in playing orderballs play blue, red, black, yellow50 ft15.24 m
Showing: MCA full court, 100 by 50 ft. Drawn to scale.

All measurements and other layouts
MCA full court, 100 by 50 ft — all measurements
DimensionImperialMetric
Length100 ft30.48 m
Width50 ft15.24 m
Stake from end6 ft1.83 m
Wicket 1 from stake6 ft1.83 m
Wicket 2 from stake12 ft3.66 m
Side wicket from wicket 216 ft4.88 m
Side wicket from side6 ft1.83 m
Side wicket from end34 ft10.36 m

MCA Rule 1 and Diagram 1 set the full double diamond. The 34 ft side-wicket position is derived from the printed 6 ft, 12 ft and 16 ft steps.

Proportional half court, 50 by 25 ft — all measurements
DimensionImperialMetric
Length50 ft15.24 m
Width25 ft7.62 m
Stake from end3 ft0.91 m
Wicket 1 from stake3 ft0.91 m
Wicket 2 from stake6 ft1.83 m
Side wicket from wicket 28 ft2.44 m
Side wicket from side3 ft0.91 m
Side wicket from end17 ft5.18 m

Half of the MCA full court, scaled in proportion as USCA's court section directs. Its 3 ft gaps fall under the 4 ft floor MCA asks players to keep when 6 ft is not possible, so it is not an official minimum.

Marking out the court

Square the marked boundary first. Measure the rectangle from the inside edge of one boundary to the inside edge opposite it, then place the stakes and wickets inward. The Layout control beside the drawing switches between the full MCA court and the proportional half court; the measurement tables under the drawing list both.

Full MCA court

The MCA court is 100 ft (30.48 m) by 50 ft (15.24 m). Place each stake on the centre line 6 ft in from its end boundary. Place the paired wickets 6 ft and 12 ft from each stake on the centre line.

From each second wicket, go 16 ft toward the centre and set two side wickets 6 ft in from the side boundaries. Place the ninth wicket at the exact centre of the court.

The coordinate table below places every wicket and stake.

Coordinate table

Each row gives a wicket or stake’s distance from the left boundary and from the near end, for the full court and its proportional half-scale copy.

The near end is the end with the starting stake, where the balls are drawn. Stand at that stake facing up the court: the left boundary is the long side on your left. On a phone the drawing shows the near end at the bottom, so left is left; on a wider screen the drawing turns a quarter turn, the near end sits at the left, and the left boundary is the top edge.

Full court positions
PositionFrom the left boundaryFrom the near end
Starting / finishing stake25 ft (7.62 m)6 ft (1.83 m)
Wicket 125 ft (7.62 m)12 ft (3.66 m)
Wicket 225 ft (7.62 m)18 ft (5.49 m)
Near side wicket, left6 ft (1.83 m)34 ft (10.36 m)
Near side wicket, right44 ft (13.41 m)34 ft (10.36 m)
Centre wicket25 ft (7.62 m)50 ft (15.24 m)
Far side wicket, left6 ft (1.83 m)66 ft (20.12 m)
Far side wicket, right44 ft (13.41 m)66 ft (20.12 m)
Far wicket 225 ft (7.62 m)82 ft (24.99 m)
Far wicket 125 ft (7.62 m)88 ft (26.82 m)
Turning stake25 ft (7.62 m)94 ft (28.65 m)
Half court positions
PositionFrom the left boundaryFrom the near end
Starting / finishing stake12.5 ft (3.81 m)3 ft (0.91 m)
Wicket 112.5 ft (3.81 m)6 ft (1.83 m)
Wicket 212.5 ft (3.81 m)9 ft (2.74 m)
Near side wicket, left3 ft (0.91 m)17 ft (5.18 m)
Near side wicket, right22 ft (6.71 m)17 ft (5.18 m)
Centre wicket12.5 ft (3.81 m)25 ft (7.62 m)
Far side wicket, left3 ft (0.91 m)33 ft (10.06 m)
Far side wicket, right22 ft (6.71 m)33 ft (10.06 m)
Far wicket 212.5 ft (3.81 m)41 ft (12.5 m)
Far wicket 112.5 ft (3.81 m)44 ft (13.41 m)
Turning stake12.5 ft (3.81 m)47 ft (14.33 m)

Proportional half court

The smaller reference is 50 ft (15.24 m) by 25 ft (7.62 m), scaled from the MCA layout in proportion. USCA's court section states only proportional scaling, with no numeric floor; MCA asks for 6 ft between the paired wickets and stakes, or at least 4 ft where space is tight. (MCA rulebook, Rule 1; USCA rule synopsis, The Court) Neither body publishes this exact size, and its 3 ft (0.91 m) gaps fall under MCA’s preferred 6 ft (1.83 m) spacing.

The smallest proportional court that still keeps MCA's 4 ft minimum gap is two-thirds scale: about 66.7 by 33.3 ft, since two-thirds of the printed 6 ft gap is exactly 4 ft.

MCA also prints an 84 by 50 ft corner-stake layout cut from a six-wicket court, for sites too tight for the full 100 by 50 ft rectangle.

Check the layout before play

  1. Lay out the boundary with temporary markers and compare its diagonals before pressing wickets into the turf.
  2. Mark the centre line, then measure each end from its own boundary.
  3. Check each wicket and stake against the coordinate table before fixing its position.

Start and follow the course

See the rules page for where each ball starts.

Play runs the complete course in order; use the table above to place every wicket and stake before the first turn.

Ball order

Blue, red, black, yellow remains the playing order. Skip a ball after it reaches the finishing stake. A six-ball cutthroat game continues with green and orange.

Scoring context

The full croquet rules cover how each wicket and stake scores, the roquet choices, boundaries, team finish and Advanced rules.

Wicket and stake positions

Which edge of the boundary do I measure?

Use the inside edges of the marked rectangle. Stakes and wickets sit inward from those lines.

Which stake is the finish?

The stake behind the starting area is the finishing stake. The ball hits the far stake while going out, reverses the course and returns to finish.

Sources

Rules used: MCA 2018 BASE four-ball game. Reviewed . How we check the rules.

  1. MCA rulebook
  2. USCA rule synopsis
Publication details and rule references
Official Nine-Wicket Croquet Rulebook: Backyard Croquet Rules, 2018 edition
2018 edition. Retrieved .
Diagram 1, p. 7; Diagram 4, p. 19, corner peg layout; Rule 1 and Diagram 1, pp. 6–7; Rule 1, p. 6, court spacing; Rule 1, p. 6, four-foot minimum; Rule 1, p. 6, reduced-court guidance; Rule 1, p. 6
Nine Wicket Backyard Croquet Rules
Undated live page. Retrieved .
The Court, proportional scaling instruction