In Olympic curling, you score by having your team’s stones closer to the center of the target (the “button”) than any of your opponent’s stones at the end of a round, called an “end.”

The basic idea

  • The ice has a circular target called the house , made of concentric rings; the very middle is the button.
  • Each “end” is like an inning in baseball: both teams throw all their stones toward the same house, then you count points.
  • Only one team can score in an end.

How points are counted

  • First, find which stone is closest to the button; that team “wins” the end and is the only team that can score.
  • Then, count how many of that team’s stones are closer to the button than the opponent’s closest stone, as long as they are touching the house rings.
  • Each of those stones is worth 1 point, so an end can be 1–8 points in team events (8 stones per team).
  • Stones completely outside the house (not touching any ring) are worth 0 points.
  • If no stones are touching the house, no one scores, and it’s a “blank end.”

Simple kid-style version:
“Whoever has the closest rock to the middle scores, and they get 1 point for each of their rocks that is closer than the other team’s closest rock.”

Ends, games, and hammer

  • In Olympic men’s and women’s events, games are usually 10 ends; mixed doubles is 8 ends.
  • Total game score is just the sum of points from all ends. The team with more points after the last end wins.
  • The team that throws last in an end has the hammer , a big strategic advantage because the last shot often decides who is closest.
  • If the end is blank (no score), the same team keeps the hammer in the next end in men’s and women’s events; mixed doubles flips hammer on a blank.

Olympic twist: mixed doubles

  • Mixed doubles teams throw only 5 stones per end instead of 8.
  • Each end starts with one pre-placed stone for each team, so it’s possible to score up to 6 points in a single mixed-doubles end (5 thrown + 1 placed).

Quick example

Imagine after an end you look at the house:

  • Your team has the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd closest stones.
  • The opponent’s nearest stone is the 4th closest.

Your team scores 3 points that end, because you have three stones closer than their closest stone, and only your team scores.

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