It may not be obvious to the eye which of the two rocks is closer to the button (centre) or if a rock is actually biting or not. Future (2007) World Champion Kelly Scott scored eight points in one of her games against 1998 World bronze medalist Cathy King. Some shoes have small disc sliders covering the front and heel portions or only the front portion of the foot, which allow more flexibility in the sliding foot for curlers playing with tuck deliveries. With the tick shot reducing the effectiveness of the four-rock rule, the Grand Slam of Curling series of bonspiels adopted a five-rock rule in 2014. If a team cannot score two points, they will often attempt to "blank an end" by removing any leftover opposition stones and rolling out; or, if there are no opposition stones, just throwing the stone through the house so that no team scores any points, and the team with the hammer can try again the next end to score two or more with it.

Players were worried that these brooms would alter the fundamentals of the sport by reducing the level of skill required, accusing them of giving players an unfair advantage, and at least thirty-four elite teams signed a statement pledging not to use them.

The skip, or the captain of the team, determines the desired stone placement and the required weight, turn, and line that will allow the stone to stop there. Defensive playing will throw a lot of hits preventing a lot of stones in play; this tends to be less exciting and less risky.

The ice may be natural but is usually frozen by a refrigeration plant pumping a brine solution through numerous pipes fixed lengthwise at the bottom of a shallow pan of water. Curling has been adapted for wheelchair users and people otherwise unable to throw the stone from the hack.

International competitive games are generally ten ends, so most of the national championships that send a representative to the World Championships or Olympics also play ten ends. On indoor rinks, there are usually two fixed hacks, rubber-lined holes, one on each side of the centre line, with the inside edge no more than 3 inches (76mm) from the centre line and the front edge on the hack line. Handles are coloured to identify each team, two popular colours in major tournaments being red and yellow. In international rules, this player must be the skip, but if the skip is throwing, then the sweeping player must be the third.

The "thinking time" system was implemented after it was recognized that using shots which take more time for the stones to come to rest was being penalized in terms of the time the teams had available compared to teams which primarily use hits which require far less time per shot. The house consists of a centre circle (the button) and three concentric rings, of diameters 4, 8, and 12 feet, formed by painting or laying a coloured vinyl sheet under the ice and are usually distinguished by colour. Curling is played in many countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom (especially Scotland), the United States, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, and Japan, all of which compete in the world championships.The Directory of Railway Stations: Details Every Public and Private Passenger Station, Halt, Platform and Stopping Place, Past and Present (1sted.

If extra ends are required, each team is allowed 10 minutes of playing time to complete its throws and one added 60-second timeout for each extra end. The precise amount of pressure may vary from relatively light brushing ("just cleaning" - to ensure debris will not alter the stone's path) to maximum-pressure scrubbing. Boys and girls alike love patting and petting these gorgeous, animated and speaking soft-furred toys. The thrower's gripper shoe (with the non-slippery sole) is positioned against one of the hacks; for a right-handed curler the right foot is placed against the left hack and vice versa for a left-hander. Guards are thrown in front of the house in the free guard zone, usually to protect a stone or to make the opposing team's shot difficult.The stone must clear the far hog line or else be removed from play ( hogged); an exception is made if a stone fails to come to rest beyond the far hog line after rebounding from a stone in play just past the hog line.