how does scoring in curling work

In curling, only one team scores each “end,” and they score 1 point for each of their stones that is closer to the center than the opponent’s closest stone.

What counts as a point?

• The circular target on the ice is called the house ; its very center is the button.

• After all 16 stones in an end have been thrown (8 per team), you look at which stone is closest to the button.

• The team that owns that closest stone scores that end; the other team scores nothing.

• That scoring team gets 1 point for every one of its stones that is closer to the button than the opponent’s closest stone, as long as the stone is touching the rings of the house.

Example: If Team A has three stones in the house that are all closer to the button than Team B’s nearest stone, Team A scores 3 points that end.

If no stones from either team are touching the house at the end, no points are scored.

What is an “end”?

• An end is like an inning in baseball: both teams throw all their stones, then you score.

• In most top-level play, games are 8 or 10 ends long; the team with the higher total at the end of all ends wins.

• If the game is tied after the scheduled ends, extra ends are played until someone wins an end and thus the game.

The hammer (last stone advantage)

• The hammer is the term for having the last stone in an end, which is a big advantage in scoring.

• Normally, the team that does not score in an end gets the hammer in the next end.

• If an end is blanked (no score), in traditional formats the team that had the hammer keeps it for the next end.

When the team without hammer manages to score, that’s called a steal , because they scored without having the last shot.

Special scoring formats

• The standard system above is used in most league and international play.

• There are alternative formats like skins games , where points or “skins” are won by meeting specific scoring conditions instead of simple point totals, often used in special events or online settings.

How the scoreboard works

• Scoreboards have columns numbered 1–8 or 1–10 for each end, with rows for each team.

• Under each end number, you record how many points that team scored in that end.

• A running total is kept at the far right to show the current game score.

• A small hammer icon or marker is often used to show which team has last stone in the current or upcoming end.

Tiny TL;DR

• Closest stone to the center wins the end.

• Winning team gets 1 point for each of its stones closer than the opponent’s nearest stone, all stones must be in the house.

• Only one team scores per end; the other team gets hammer next end (unless it’s a blank, where hammer usually stays).

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.