Overview and Rules
Note: In the full rules, there are 3 possible positions for the guard stones depending on the ice conditions, For simplicity, only the 2nd positions is shown, and this is the one with ice markings in Kinross.
Setup
- 2 stones are placed on the sheet. One in the house and the other as a guard.
- The team with their stone placed as a guard will play first.
- The team who won the toss, or who did not score in the previous end, choose whether they want their stone in the house (they play second) or as a guard (they play first).
Teams
- Teams of 2, usually one male and one female player.
- Each team will deliver 5 stones per end. One player delivers the 1st and 5th stones, and the other the 2nd, 3rd and 4th stones.
- The player delivering the first and last stones can change from end to end.
Scoring
- Scoring is the same as in a regular game of curling. The “positioned” stones that are placed prior to the start of each end can count towards the score.
Rules
- If you blank an end in doubles curling, you lose the hammer.
- No stone can be removed from play (even if in the house, or your own) until the forth stone to be delivered. In the case of a violation, the delivered stone is removed and any displaced stones returned to their previous position by the non-offending team.
- Each team has one powerplay in a game which they can use on any end where they have the choice of stone position. They choose which side (left or right) the stones should be placed.
In the diagrams below, if the yellow stone is in the house then red plays first, and vice versa.