What game do several of the men play outdoors? How good a player is the black worker? Is Carlson jealous?

They are playing horse shoe toss. Crooks is probably good at it because it is the only recreation he is allowed to have with the other men. I'm not sure what you mean by Carlson being jealous, jealous of what?

Maybe Carlson is jealous that Crooks, although being a black, is better at him in horseshoe tossing. We have to note that Blacks were counted as an inferior race at that time and perhaps it is regarded as a shameful thing to have a black person be better than a white at something.