Trucco

[7] The 1884 edition of Enquire Within upon Everything, a concise household-life handbook and topical encyclopedia, suggested that the game was popular enough in England in the late Victorian era that "the balls, cues, &c., are sold by most dealers in croquet implements".

[8] An English painting of the early 17th century (showing above to the right) illustrates two fancily-dressed gentlemen playing trucco in small rectangular court without turf (probably clay, and perhaps 10–12 feet (3.0–3.7 m) wide and of larger but indeterminate length) bounded with wooden boards, using scoop-shaped maces, a ring-shaped target mounted upright on the ground, and a single leather or wooden ball barely small enough to fit through the hoop, and well under 1 foot (0.30 m) in diameter, if the scale in the image can be trusted.

The late-19th-century version of trucco was described in many editions of Enquire Within (spellings are as in the original):[8] This is a game that may be played by any number of persons in a field or open space.

Considerable skill is required in throwing the ball, as the ring, turning freely on its pivot, twists round on being struck.

But in order to get nearer to it a judicious player will endeavour to make two or three canons, if the balls lie within a convenient distance and at a proper angle to each other.The English rules, as of 1884[8] (and republished intermittently until at least 1916),[9] called for a circular playing area at least 8 yards (7.3 m) across (often considerably larger), with the rotating-ring port fixed in the center.

This was mounted, almost flush with the ground, on a stake (which might be attached to a buried board for additional stability), and was required to turn freely.

Each player used a single ball, smooth, spherical, typically made of lignum vitae or boxwood, and weighting 3–5 pounds (1.4–2.3 kg).

A ball in-play was manipulated only with a mace (cue), which was long, wooden, and had a curved iron head like a giant spoon.

In that event, the player to whom it belonged could move it to a preferred spot outside the ring at their next turn and play it from there, as with their beginning shot in the game.