How a curling game works

1. Two teams of four take turns sliding stones down the ice towards a target called the house. Each player delivers two stones, so each team plays eight in an end.
2. Team-mates sweep in front of a moving stone to help it on its way.
3. When all 16 stones are played, only one team scores: a point for each of its stones nearer the centre than any of the other team's. Throwing the last stone of an end, the hammer, is an advantage.
4. The team with more points after the scheduled ends wins. A tie goes to an extra end.

How long

A game is 10 ends, or 8. Each team has its own thinking time on a clock: 38 minutes in a 10-end game, 30 in an 8-end game.