Jennifer McKinney, age 10, of Asbury Park, N.J., for her question:

WHEN WAS CROQUET FIRST PLAYED?

Croquet is a lawn game in which the players strike wooden balls through a series of wire hooks or hoops, also called wickets, by means of long handled wooden mallets. Croquet is a revival of an older game, called pall mall, that was played in England in the 17th century.

The French also had a similar game back in the 17th century and the name "croquet" is derived from the French word "crochet," meaning "hook."

About 1870 croquet was introduced into the United States.

A variation of croquet, called toque, was developed in the United States at the turn of the century. Rogue is similar to croquet in rules of play and equipment, but it more closely resembles billiards in the manner in which it is played.

The playing area for croquet should be a well rolled level grass lawn 80 to 300 feet long and 45 to 150 feet wide. The object of the game is for each player to try to make the quickest complete circuit of 10 wickets.

Rogue is played on a clay court that is smaller than a croquet playing area.