In curling, a power play is a special rule used only in mixed doubles that lets the team with last-rock advantage move the pre-positioned stones off the center line to one side of the sheet, creating a better scoring setup and more offensive potential. It can be used once per game by each team (and not in extra ends), and is designed to boost the chance of scoring multiple points in that end.

What is a power play in curling?

In standard mixed doubles, each end starts with one stone in the house for the team with hammer and one center guard for the other team. When a team calls a power play, those two stones are shifted to the side: the scoring stone goes to the side of the house along the tee line and the other becomes a corner guard in front of it, opening up the centre.

This side setup makes it harder for opponents to clog the middle and easier to build a “big end” with multiple counters behind cover. Because of that, the power play has become a defining strategic wrinkle of mixed doubles and a frequent talking point during Olympic coverage.

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