Editing Croquet (section)

===Nine-wicket===
Nine-wicket croquet, sometimes called "backyard croquet", is played mainly in Canada and the United States and is the game most recreational players in those countries call simply "croquet". In this version of croquet, there are nine wickets, two stakes, and up to six balls. The course is arranged in a double-diamond pattern, with one stake at each end of the course. Players start at one stake, navigate one side of the double diamond, hit the turning stake, then navigate the opposite side of the double diamond and hit the starting stake to end. If playing individually (''Cutthroat''), the first player to stake out is the winner. In partnership play, all members of a team must stake out, and a player might choose to avoid staking out (becoming a ''Rover'') in order to help a lagging teammate.<ref name="9-wicket rules"/>

Each time a ball is roqueted, the striker gets two bonus shots.
For the first bonus shot, the player has four options:<ref name="9-wicket rules">{{cite web|url=http://www.9wicketcroquet.com/rules/26/backyard-croquet-basic-rules|title=9-Wicket Croquet: Backyard Croquet: Basic Rules|website=www.9wicketcroquet.com|access-date=31 October 2014|archive-date=19 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719110428/http://www.9wicketcroquet.com/rules/26/backyard-croquet-basic-rules|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* From a mallet-head distance or less away from the ball that was hit ("taking a mallet-head")
* From a position in contact with the ball that was hit, with the striker's ball held steady by the striker's foot or hand (a "foot shot" or "hand shot")
* From a position in contact with the ball that was hit, with the striker's ball not held by foot or hand (a "croquet shot")
* From where the striker ball stopped after the roquet
The second bonus shot ("continuation shot") is an ordinary shot played from where the striker ball came to rest.

An alternative endgame is "poison": in this variant, a player who has scored the last wicket but not hit the starting stake becomes a "poison ball", which may eliminate other balls from the game by roqueting them. A non-poison ball that roquets a poison ball has the normal options. A poison ball that hits a stake or passes through any wicket (possibly through the action of a non-poison player) is eliminated. The last person remaining is the winner.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.9wicketcroquet.com/rules/28/backyard-croquet-challenging-options#option6|title=9-Wicket Croquet: Backyard Croquet: Challenging Options|website=www.9wicketcroquet.com|access-date=31 October 2014|archive-date=2 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150302102307/http://www.9wicketcroquet.com/rules/28/backyard-croquet-challenging-options#option6|url-status=dead}}</ref>