The winner is the team with the highest score after all ends have been completed (see Scoring below).

Once it is determined that a rock taking (for example) 13 seconds to go from hog line to hog line will stop on the tee line, the curler can know that if the hog-to-hog time is matched by a future stone, that stone will likely stop at approximately the same location. Pat their heads and these cute, talking buddies giggle, curl up and make funny noises - but that's not all! This rule is known as the five-rock rule or the free guard zone rule (previous versions of the free guard zone rule only limited removing guards from play in the first three or four rocks). Large leads are often defended by displacing the opponent's stones to reduce their opportunity to score multiple points.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. In 2017, the five-rock rule was adopted by the World Curling Federation and member organizations for official play, beginning in the 2018–19 season. Stones must land between the hog line (bottom of photo) and the back line (behind the rings) and may not contact boards or out lines (on the sides) at any time during travel. More so than in many other team sports, good sportsmanship, often referred to as the "Spirit of Curling", is an integral part of curling. 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.

Ordinary athletic shoes may be converted to sliders by using a step-on or slip-on Teflon slider or by applying electrical or gaffer tape directly to the sole or over a piece of cardboard. After several years of having the three-rock rule used for the Canadian championships and the winners then having to adjust to the four-rock rule in the World Championships, the Canadian Curling Association adopted the four-rock free guard zone in the 2002–2003 season. The amount of curl (commonly referred to as the feet of curl) can change during a game as the pebble wears; the ice maker must monitor this and be prepared to scrape and re-pebble the surface prior to each game.Prior to the 1950s, most curling brooms were made of corn strands and were similar to household brooms of the day. These are easier to make because they impart less speed on the object stone, therefore increasing the chance that it remains in play even if a bigger chunk of it is hit.

Improvements in ice making and changes in the rules to increase scoring and promote complex strategy have increased the already high popularity of the sport in Canada, and large television audiences watch annual curling telecasts, especially the Scotties Tournament of Hearts (the national championship for women), the Montana's Brier (the national championship for men), and the women's and men's world championships. In 2021, the sitcom The Great North aired the episode "Curl Interrupted Adventure" in which two characters join a curling league. Generally, a team without the hammer would want to either force the team with the hammer to only one point, so that they can get the hammer back, or "steal" the end by scoring one or more points of their own. According to the 1881 Census, Andrew Kay employed 30 people in his curling stone factory in Mauchline.The quarry supplies curling stone granite exclusively to the Canada Curling Stone Company, which has been producing stones since 1992 and supplied the stones for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

One strategy that has been developed by curlers in response to the free guard zone ( Kevin Martin from Alberta is one of the best examples) is the "tick" game, where a shot is made attempting to knock (tick) the guard to the side, far enough that it is difficult or impossible to use but still remaining in play while the shot itself goes out of play. As the stone moves over the pebble, any rotation of the stone causes it to curl, or travel along a curved path. The Corner Gas episode "Hurry Hard" involves the townspeople of Dog River competing in a local curling bonspiel for the fictitious "Clavet Cup".

Howard's Rule" (later known as the Moncton Rule), used for the tournament and based on a practice drill his team used, had the first four rocks in play unable to be removed no matter where they were at any time during the end. Thus, the first Olympic medals in curling, which at the time was played outdoors, were awarded for the 1924 Winter Games, with the gold medal won by Great Britain, two silver medals by Sweden, and the bronze by France. 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.