Will Bishop, age 13, of Chattanooga, Tenn., for his question:

IS THERE A GAME CALLED RACQUETS?

Racquets is the name of an indoor court game that was introduced in England in the early 19th century. Believed to have originated in English prisons, the game became popular at Harrow and Eton. Today it is played chiefly in private clubs in England and the United States.

Racquets, sometimes spelled rackets, is similar in principle and rules to handball. It is played with slender racquets and a hard ball.

The enclosed, rectangular racquets court is usually 60 feet by 30 feet with three walls 30 feet high and a back wall 15 feet high. A horizontal line (called a service line) is painted across the front wall nine and a half feet from the ground. Below this, up to 27 inches above the ground, but usually at the baseboard, is an out of play wooden board called the telltale, which enables the players to judge by sound whether or not a ball is in play.

The short line is painted on the floor 36 feet from and parallel to the front wall. A perpendicular line extends from the center point of the short line to the ball wall, forming two service areas. The ball, which is served off the front wall, must land in the opposite service court and behind the short line. The game consists of 15 aces, or points.