I'm going to make a confession: One of my favorite childhood summer games was croquet. Having croquet in my backyard was almost as good as having minigolf in my backyard. To my friends, it was an odd but fun game the Behans had summoned from another era entirely. "Croquet, is that like quiche?" But I digress. The one important thing to know about croquet purchasing? Don't buy a cheap croquet set. Since smaking a neighbor's ball as hard as humanly possible is one of the greatest joys of croquet, it pay to invest in a set that won't crack.
The Scottsdale six-player set ($109.95) should do the trick, and if you'd like to pay extra you can even personalize the mallets! A handy feature of this set is its carrying case, which allows you to take croquet beyond your own backyard, to the park, to the neighbor's backyard, on vacation--the possibilities are endless.
