  roque  is an american variant of croquet played on a hard, smooth surface. popular in the first quarter of the 20th century and billed "the game of the century" by its enthusiasts, it was an olympic sport in the 1904 summer games, replacing croquet from the previous games. ==roque court and equipment== roque is played on a hard sand or clay 30 by 60&nbsp;foot (approximately 9 by 19&nbsp;m) court bordered by a boundary wall, a curb bevelled at the ends to form an octagon. players use this wall to  balls similarly to how billiard balls are played off the cushions of a billiard table. the wickets, called arches, are permanently anchored in the court. the arches are narrow as in professional six-wicket croquet. the court has ten arches in seven points configured in a double diamond (or figure-8). the two farthest end points and the central point of the figure-8 are double arches (one after the other) while the four side (or corner) points have single arches. each arch of the double arches at either end of the court count as a separate arch, but the double arches in the center (which are closer together) are scored as a single arch. while in nine-wicket croquet the single central wicket opens up to the length of the court facing the stakes, in roque the double center arches face the sides of the court. roque uses two stakes: at the head of the court is the "head stake," the other stake at the far end of the court is the "turning stake." the mallets with which the balls are struck have a shorter handle (approx. 24 inches) than croquet mallets. one end of the mallet is surfaced with rubber, the other with wood, plastic, or aluminum. ==notes on game play== the rules of roque are largely similar to those of croquet, with some notable exceptions: *in roque, a wall marks the bou
Croquet_in_the_United_States Former_Summer_Olympic_sports Lawn_games Precision_sports Roque