Is there a curling game on the computer?

Curling Stones in Games by Zaweba is a curling game for Windows. You slide granite stones down the ice to the house, sweeping hard to beat glassy patches that push the stone sideways, over four ends of eight stones each against the computer. It is free, original and runs offline.

It catches the slow, tactical feel of real curling, where every stone changes what the next one can do.

Setting up a throw

Each throw has three parts. First, place the broom to set your line; this is where the stone is aimed. Second, pick which way the stone curls. Third, press and hold to fill the weight meter, and let go to throw. The weight decides how far the stone travels.

With the mouse, move to place the broom, press and hold for weight, and let go. A curl button switches the direction. With the keyboard, Up and Down move the broom, C or Left and Right change the curl, and holding Space fills the weight and, later, sweeps.

Sweeping against the drift

Glassy patches on the ice push the stone sideways. Once the stone is moving, hold to sweep: sweeping carries the stone further and straighter. So sweeping is how you rescue a throw that is drifting off line or falling short.

A good habit is to throw slightly light and sweep it home. A stone thrown too heavy can't be slowed down, but a stone thrown a touch light can be swept on to exactly where you want it.

How an end is scored

After each end, only one side scores. The side with the stone nearest the button, the centre of the house, scores one point for every stone it has closer than the other side's best stone. So a single well-placed stone can be worth more than several stones lying nearby.

That shapes the tactics. Early in an end there is no hurry, but the last few stones decide everything, and a stone that settles just inside the computer's best can turn an end around. With eight stones each per end, there is time to recover from a poor throw, as long as the last ones are good.

It also helps to think about the ice before the first stone. The glassy patches are part of the sheet, so a line that drifted on one throw is likely to drift the same way on the next unless you change the broom or sweep earlier. Use the first end to learn where the stone wanders, and the later ends to use that knowledge. Curling rewards a calm, thoughtful pace, and there is no clock pushing you to throw before you are ready.

Playing Curling Stones

Curling Stones is on the Skill & sport shelf of Games by Zaweba, alongside darts, pool, ski jump and more. Press Ctrl+F and type curling to jump to it. The title card sets out the rules and controls, F1 explains them again during play, Esc pauses and F11 shows the whole sheet of ice across your screen.

Plays, wins and your best score are kept on the game's tile in a scores file on your PC. There are no adverts, no accounts and no network. If you like the blend of line and weight, Shove Ha'penny on the same shelf asks much the same of you on a pub board.