In April 2013, Reg Bamford of South Africa beat Ahmed Nasr of Egypt in the final of the Golf Croquet World Championship in Cairo, becoming the first person to simultaneously hold the title in both association croquet and golf croquet. Individual World Championships usually take place every two or three years. In all forms of croquet, individual players or teams take turns to strike the balls, scoring points by striking them through a hoop. Advanced variants of association croquet give further penalties to dissuade skilled players from running every hoop with a ball on a single break, while handicap versions give weaker players chances to continue play after making an error. Official rules were first published in 1894 by the Spalding Athletic Library, as adopted by the National American Croquet Association. There was a revival in the 1890s, but from then on, croquet was always a minority sport, with national individual participation amounting to a few thousand players. After a point is awarded, all players move on to contest the next hoop. In play, the object is to stroke the cue ball so that it hits the two object balls in succession, scoring a carom, or billiard, what is billiards which counts one point.

Hoops are contested in a fixed order, with a point awarded to the owner of the first ball to pass through the hoop in the correct direction. The object of the game is to be the first to strike each of their balls through all six hoops in both directions, in a fixed order, and to strike the central peg. The next shot must move both the player's ball and the roqueted ball, and it is the "croquet" stroke that gives the game its name. When a roquet is made, the player may pick up their ball and place it in contact with the roqueted ball. This not only keeps the game consistent but also takes away any doubt as to the proper protocol as the result of a player fouling. It is no coincidence that the game became popular at the same time as the cylinder lawn mower, since croquet can only be played well on a lawn that is flat and finely-cut. At least one version of it, rouët ('wheel'), was a multi-ball lawn game. Two versions of the game are directly governed by the World Croquet Federation, which organises individual and team World Championships.

The 2023 AC World Championships took place in London; the winner was Robert Fulford. The world's top 10 association croquet players as of October 2023 were Robert Fletcher (Australia), Robert Fulford (England), Paddy Chapman (New Zealand), Jamie Burch (England), Reg Bamford (South Africa), Matthew Essick (USA), Mark Avery (England), Simon Hockey (Australia), Harry Fisher (England), and Jose Riva (Spain). Egypt in top position, and with Spain at number six. Every four years, the top countries play in the World Team Championships in AC (the MacRobertson Shield) and GC (the Openshaw Shield). The sport has particularly strong followings in the UK, US, New Zealand, Australia, and Egypt; many other countries also play. 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". For serious players or those who intend to spend a lot of time playing for fun, green or blue are the best bets. Studies have shown that these gentle colors - the classic pool table green and Tournament Blue shades specifically - are very easy on the human eye. Had such a table been maintained the 33 year span in the First Class game would also have caught the eye.

One-pocket is a strategic game where each player selects a specific pocket to pocket their designated balls. Other organisations, such as the Billiard Congress of America and European Pocket Billiard Federation made regional Artistic Pool championships. When deciding on a pool table size to fit into a home or other space, buyers should also take into consideration the size of the pool cue. This means that, no matter in which pocket the cue ball is pocketed in, the opposing player can only take the ball in hand from behind the head string. Pool is a common nickname for the game pocket billiards. Both billiards and pool are indoor sports. These extra turns, called "bisques" are effective in levelling the odds of winning. Teams are promoted and relegated between the lower tiers, but there is no relegation to or promotion from the MacRobertson Shield. The most prestigious international team competition in association croquet is the MacRobertson International Croquet Shield. Other nations compete in Tier 2 and Tier 3 World Team Championships. In the Thursday Next series of novels, notably Something Rotten, Jasper Fforde depicts an alternative world in which croquet is a brutal mass spectator sport. October, Hanan Rashad of Egypt beat Yasser Fathy (also from Egypt) to win the World over-50s Golf Croquet championship.