Dice Curling Game: Rules, Scoring and Odds

Dice curling brings the ice to the kitchen table. Two players or two teams take turns sliding stones toward the button, the centre of the target, and every slide is a roll of two dice. A high roll lands close to the button, a low roll slides out of play, and an 11 or 12 knocks the other team’s best stone away. After each end, only the team closest to the button scores. You need two dice, a pencil and some counters, and a game takes about fifteen minutes. Below are the rules and the exact odds.

What you need

• Two six-sided dice, or a dice roller set to two dice.
• A target drawn on paper, the house, with rings numbered 5 to 12 from the outside in. The button in the middle is 12.
• Four counters per team in two colours, such as red and yellow buttons or coins.
• A score sheet with six ends, and a coin flip to decide who has the hammer.

Who gets the hammer?

The hammer is the last stone of an end. Toss a coin flip. The winner takes the hammer in the first end, and the other team throws first. After that, the team that did not score gets the hammer in the next end. After a blank end, where nobody scores, the hammer stays with the same team.

How to play

1. A game has six ends. In each end the teams take turns, each throwing four stones, starting with the team without the hammer.
2. To throw a stone, roll both dice, add them up and look at the chart below. Put the stone in the ring with that number, or take it away if it is out of play.
3. Takeout: on an 11 or 12, remove the other team’s closest stone from the house, then place your stone on 11 or 12. If the other team has no stone in the house, your stone simply lands on 11 or 12.
4. Scoring: when all eight stones are thrown, the team with the stone closest to the button scores 1 point for each of its stones that is closer than the other team’s best stone. If the two closest stones of the two teams are on the same number, or the house is empty, it is a blank end.
5. After six ends, the team with more points wins. If the score is level, play one extra end.

Real curling uses the same scoring, the same idea of the hammer and the same rule that the team that did not score takes the hammer. It also has sweeping, guards and a lot of strategy that dice cannot copy, so this is a simple home version, not an official game.

The dice chart and the chance of each stone

In the table, “Roll” is the total of the two dice, “The stone” is what happens to it, and “Chance” is the exact probability out of the 36 ways two dice can land.

Five stones in six end up in the house, counting the takeouts. The middle totals are the most common, as explained in our guide to dice probability, so the busiest ring is 7. A takeout comes 1 time in 12.

Who scores in an end?

In the next table, “Result of one end” is what happens after all eight stones, from the point of view of the team with the hammer, and “Chance” is the exact probability rounded to whole percent. When the team without the hammer scores, curlers call it a steal.

The hammer team scores in about 44% of ends and the other team in about 42%, so the last stone helps, but only a little in the dice version. In real curling, where players can aim the last stone, the hammer is worth much more. On average an end gives about 1.5 points, and all four stones of one team score together in about 4% of ends.

How often is the game tied?

After six ends, the score is level about 9% of the time, so roughly one game in eleven needs an extra end. Over a whole game, the team that won the coin flip and took the hammer first wins about 51% of the time, almost exactly a fair game. These numbers are worked out exactly from the rules, not simulated.

Tips

• Shout “Hurry hard!” after each roll, as curlers do when they want their team to sweep.
• Draw the house large enough that all eight stones fit, and stack stones on the same ring side by side.
• For a short game, play four ends. For a championship game, play eight or ten.
• Let each player on a team throw one stone per end, as real curling teams of four do.

Classroom ideas

• Comparing numbers: pupils decide which stones count by comparing them with the other team’s best stone.
• Probability: why is 7 the busiest ring? List the six ways two dice can make 7.
• Fractions: work out the chance that a stone lands on a ring from 5 to 10: 27 in 36 is three quarters.
• Teams: make fair teams for a class tournament with a random name picker.

Variations

• Guard: a roll of 5 is a guard. While a team has a guard in play, the other team’s next takeout only removes the guard.
• Double takeout: a double 6 removes the other team’s two closest stones.
• Mixed doubles: each team throws five stones and starts the end with one stone already on 6.
• Skins: each end is worth one prize, and a blank end carries it over to the next.

If you like winter sports played with dice, try dice ski jumping next, or aim for the gold in dice archery.

FAQ

How do you play curling with dice?

Each roll of two dice is one stone. A 2 to 4 is out of play, 5 to 10 lands in that ring of the house, and 11 or 12 is a takeout of the other team’s closest stone. After eight stones, the team closest to the button scores.

What is the hammer?

The last stone of an end. The coin flip winner has it first, and after that the team that did not score gets it. After a blank end it stays with the same team.

How is an end scored?

The team with the closest stone scores 1 point for each of its stones closer to the button than the other team’s best stone.

Does the hammer help in dice curling?

A little. The hammer team scores in about 44% of ends and the other team in about 42%.

What happens if the game is tied?

Play one extra end. It is needed in about 9% of games.

How many players can play?

Two players or two teams. In teams, each player throws one or two of the stones in every end.