Anyone for Croquet? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pall Mall

The game of pall mall (or paille-maille) was popular during the 17th and 18th centuries and survived into the 19th century. The name derives from the Italian words for ball and mallet and was played along a long alley. Similar street names in other European countries include the Rue du Mail (Paris), the Palmaille (Hamburg), and the Maliebaan (Utrecht).

As the game's popularity waned, the space vacated was often taken over by traders and a new phrase was born, the shopping mall.

Answer: Tennis - Wimbledon

The rules for lawn tennis were drawn up in 1873 by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield and the sport very quickly eclipsed croquet in terms of popularity. In 1877, the club renamed itself the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club and held its first tennis championships that year, to raise money to buy a roller for the croquet lawns.

The word "croquet" was dropped from the club's name in 1882, but a change of heart led to it being reinstated seven years later, now after the "Lawn Tennis" rather than before it.

Answer: Both have been Olympic sports

Both croquet and roque have had one turn at being an Olympic sport. Croquet came first at the Paris Olympics of 1900, and was the first Olympic event that women could enter. All the medals were won by France which is not surprising, as the only non-French competitor was a Belgian that failed to complete the first round.

The organisers hardly made life easy for international visitors as the competition began on 24th June, and then continued on Sundays through to 15th August. It has even been claimed that at least one entrant didn't even realise they were competing in the Olympics. Roque was an Olympic sport at St. Louis in 1904.

This time it was the USA who had a clean sweep of medals. Which is also not surprising as they really were the only team to enter.

Answer: Wickets

The rules of croquet allow for six and nine wicket versions of the game, the latter being more popular in America. There is also a variant of the nine wicket version which allows for two wickets to be placed together at the centre. A reference to this is found in Vladimir Nabokov's 1957 novel "Pnin". "These people favoured the time-honoured but technically illegal setting of hoops, where two of the 10 are crossed at the centre of the ground to form the so-called Cage or Mousetrap".

Answer: Orange

The four balls are coloured red, yellow, black and blue. Red partners yellow and black partners blue. Roque, the American cousin of croquet, uses red, white, black, and blue. If playing doubles, each player is assigned to a ball. If playing singles, each player controls two balls.

Answer: Three tennis courts

The dimensions of a tennis court (including the tramlines) are 23.77 metres in length and 10.97 metres in width. This compares to the suggested dimensions of a croquet lawn as 25.5 metres by 32 metres. If a ball leaves the playing area, it is replaced at a point one metre (the length of a mallet) in from where it crossed the boundary line.

Answer: Either of us can play at our discretion

Croquet is a game of strategy, sometimes described as chess on grass. It is, therefore, down to the teammates to determine which ball presents them with the better opportunities on that turn. Once decided, that player remains playing until the turn is over. These are the standard rules although there are variations which allow for a strict alternation of players' turns.

Answer: Any of these options will gain me an extra shot

A shot which hits another ball is known as a roquet. The two balls (striking ball and struck ball) are then placed together and the ensuing shot is known as a croquet. The strategic purpose of this shot is to place both balls where they are most useful to the striker, who then has a further shot to attempt either a hoop or the striking of another ball. If the striker passes through a hoop, they gain a further free shot and all balls become available to roquet once more.

Answer: When both balls on a team have struck a peg in the centre of the lawn

A ball that has pegged out plays no further part in the game. In order to peg out, a player must have first passed through all of the hoops on the lawn in the correct order. Pegging out may be done by different players in different turns or, to do it in style, one player may croquet their partner onto the peg and follow on themself in the following shot.

It is also possible, for strategic reasons, to peg out an opponent's ball, thereby removing it from play.

Answer: Sub-aqua croquet

Other recognised variants include mondo croquet and gateball. A further version, castle croquet, was invented by Lewis Carroll in 1866 and is still played by some clubs on an occasional novelty basis.

Golf croquet is the most popular of these alternative forms. Players play in rotation and have just one stroke each when their turn comes. The emphasis is on passing through 12 hoops (each hoop is played twice) in as few shots as possible.