Keep this beside the game
What just happened?
A quick answer, then back to the curling.
Tap a question for a quick curling answer, then follow the link if you want more. These explainers follow World Curling’s September 2026 rules; individual events and club leagues may use different rules.
15 quick answers. Tap a question to read it.
Why are they shaking hands before the last end?rules
Usually, one team has conceded and the handshake acknowledges the result. Teams do not have to play every scheduled end, but an event may require a minimum number first.
The game’s handshake tradition →
Sources: World Curling 2026: R12(a), R12(i) (ending a game), C5(a)–(b) (minimum ends) · World Curling: What is curling?
Why did nobody score?scoring
That is a blank end, usually because the house is empty. In standard four-player curling, the same team keeps hammer. Mixed doubles gives the next starting-stone placement choice to the team that threw first, except after an equal-measure blank, when the choice stays unchanged.
How blank ends differ in mixed doubles →
Sources: World Curling 2026: R5(a), R12(f), R17(g)(III) (blank ends and placement choice)
What does “hammer” mean?scoring
The hammer is the last stone of an end, so its team gets the final chance to change the score. In four-player curling, the team that scores throws first next end.
Why does the score not match the number of stones?scoring
The main score is points earned in completed ends. Only one team scores per end: one point for each stone in or touching the house that is closer to its center than the opponent’s nearest stone. The colored rings have no separate point values.
Try reading a curling scoreboard →
Sources: World Curling 2026: R12(b)–(c) (scoring and stones touching the house)
Why did they call that a steal?scoring
The team without hammer scored. That is a steal because it earned points even though the other team had the last shot.
Sources:
Can they hit their own stone?shots
Yes: a team may deliberately tap its own stone closer, use it to knock out another stone, or clear it away. Mixed doubles restricts removing any stone already in play, including your own, during the first three deliveries.
Meet the skip’s shot-making tools →
Sources: World Curling 2026 glossary: “Freeze” (p. 60), “Raise” and “Raise Take-out” (p. 62) · World Curling 2026: R17(e) (first-three-delivery protection)
Why stop a stone short of the scoring rings?shots
It may be a guard, placed to protect a stone behind it or block an opponent’s route. A guard outside the house cannot score there, but it can help set up points with later shots.
Sources: World Curling 2026: R12(b)–(c) (scoring and stones touching the house)
Why can’t they knock that guard away yet?rules
In four-player curling, an opponent’s free-guard-zone stone cannot be removed from play during the first five deliveries in total. World Curling’s no-tick rule also protects an opponent’s guard touching the center line from being moved off that line or out of the zone during those shots. Mixed doubles and wheelchair curling do not use that no-tick rule.
Understand the five-rock rule →
Sources: World Curling 2026: R6(a)–(b), R7(a)–(c) (free guard zone and no-tick scope)
Why are they bringing out a measuring device?rules
They are checking which stone is closer to the center, or whether one touches the house. If opposing closest stones remain tied after checking, neither team scores. If the tie is only for an extra point, any clearly closer stones still count.
Sources: World Curling 2026: R12(d)–(f) (measurement and tied stones)
Why was that stone taken off the ice?rules
A stone may be out of play, released too late, or involved in a rule violation. If a moving stone was touched, or “burned,” the remedy depends on where and by whom; it is not always automatic removal.
What happens after a stone is touched →
Sources: World Curling 2026: R2(f)–(h), R5(e)–(f), R9(a)–(b) (removal and touched stones)
Why did they nestle one stone against another?shots
That may be a freeze: a soft shot that stops against another stone. The other stone can act as backing, making a clean takeout harder.
Sources: World Curling 2026 glossary: “Freeze” (p. 60), “Raise” and “Raise Take-out” (p. 62)
Why are they sweeping, then suddenly stopping?shots
Sweeping can help a stone travel farther and change how much it curls. The team may stop to avoid carrying it too far or to let its path bend. “Weight” means speed or expected distance; “line” means the path.
Decode the team’s sweeping calls →
Sources: World Curling: What is curling?
What does thinking time mean, and why do the clocks stop?rules
Thinking time is each team’s allowance for choosing and preparing its shots. The display shows that team’s time remaining.
Under World Curling rules, the next team’s clock starts after the stones have stopped or crossed the back line, any required repositioning is finished, and the previous team has cleared the playing area. It stops when the delivered stone reaches the tee line at the delivery end, early in the slide. Wheelchair curling uses the delivery-end hog line instead.
Clocks also pause for breaks and umpire interventions. The first stone of an end normally begins without a running team clock, unless the team delays.
The allowance varies by format and competition. For example, World Curling gives each team 38 minutes in a standard 10-end game. Check the event’s timing rules.
Watch the curling time-clock explainer →
Sources: World Curling 2026: C6(a), C6(d)–(f), C6(i)–(j) · World Curling: Game timing
Is red always the same country?rules
Red and yellow identify the two teams for this game at World Curling events. They are assigned game by game, so check the scoreboard to see which team has which color.
Know which stones belong to each team →
Sources: World Curling 2026: R2(b), R5(b), C8(a) (stone colors and assignment) · World Curling: What is curling?
Why did the starting stones move to the side?mixed doubles
In mixed doubles, a power play moves the two starting stones to one side: a corner guard and a stone behind it in the house. Each team can use it once, when it has the placement choice, meaning it chooses the starting-stone setup. It cannot be used in an extra end.
See the mixed doubles power play →
Sources: World Curling 2026: R17(f)(III), R17(g), R17(i) (power play and placement choice)
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