Garden Games Review: Cottage Croquet Set
As a family with four children, we are always on the look out for something they can play together.
So, when I was contacted by Big Game Hunters to ask if we would like to review a specially sized croquet set, I thought why not?
I have to confess I knew very little about croquet but I do know my kids, and know they like anything that involves hitting stuff. A game where they use mallets to knock balls through hoops sounded right up their alley.
The only problem at this time of year is the weather. Would it ever stop raining long enough to allow us to get the set out and enjoy the game?
In due time, the croquet set was delivered and on opening it , it was obvious that it was a good quality set. The mallets and balls feel very solid, although apparently they are scaled down to make them easier for kids to handle.
Our younger two, aged 4 and 6, found the mallets a little too heavy to handle but on non-raining day, our 9 year old had a friend around and they set up a course on the back lawn for a couple of games. They especially enjoyed knocking each other’s balls out of the way.
They set up the course themselves, so it’s not anyway near regulation but the set does come with a full set of very thorough instructions if you are a stickler for rules. They were easily able to push the hoops in themselves and you can see that the mallets are a good size for averagely tall 9 year olds. Our garden is no croquet lawn, we have too many dogs and children for that , but it was still possible to have a good game of croquet on it. It’s just sometimes it rather resembled a game of mini golf, as the balls would occasionally get stuck in ruts or roll backwards out of the hoop.
Once DD2 and her friend had finished with the set, DD1 got back from cross country and wanted to have a go.
She is almost 5 foot tall and the mallets were just right for her.
I joined in with her too and didn’t have to stoop too much. It was fine, even if we did have to stop play once or twice because the dogs wanted to join in.
They were after the balls of course, but it appears that even lighter weight croquet balls were too heavy for them. Bonus!
And when we had finished, we packed everything away in the handy nylon bag provided, and the older DDs worked together to carry the set in the shed.
We have pulled it out a couple more times over the last couple of weeks, and have found that the younger two can participate in the game with some parental assistance. However our lawn is now too waterlogged for croquet, and I suspect we will have to wait until next spring before we can play again.
If you are looking for a fun game for your family to enjoy, then this croquet set might be for you. You will need at least a small garden or nearby park in which to set out the course and be prepared for some ‘discussion’ with regards to turn taking and strategy. It comes with 4 different coloured balls, 4 scaled-down mallets, 6 steel hoops, a finishing peg and full instructions.
The Cottage Croquet Set costs £84.99 but is a quality set that will last many years.
I was provided with a Cottage Croquet Set In A Bag to review but my opinion of the item was in no way biased by this.
