eXtreme Croquet

eXtreme Croquet is still croquet, except it's played in very uncroquet-like environments, with special mallets (strong enough to reach the eXtremities of the course), special wickets (large, strong, and the center wickets have both a high and low tier), and recommended balls (wood except in the winter, where plastic is preferred). Suggested eXtreme environments include: fields, parks, woods, and, eXtremest of all, drainage basins.

"The first true example of eXtreme croquet appeared in the 1920's, when Herbert Swope, publisher of the New York World, built a new course on his Sands Point, Long Island estate. The course was so large that players had to shout to one another. It had sand traps, bunkers, rough, and Long Island Sound waiting in the distance.

"In the United States, eXtreme croquet took a step forward in the late 1970's with the development of "Guerilla Croquet", invented by collegiate champion Hans Peterson and his partners at Croquet Magazine, Bob Alman and Michael Orgill. Another entry into the eXtreme category came from Nevada's Black Rock Desert, where trucks with oversize tires smash six-foot balls through giant hoops.

from Bernie DeKoven, funsmith