[ritchiebaby]

To my mind, the basic idea is to limit the number of take-outs in an end, thereby keeping more stones in play. The team that sets the stones in their starting positions for the first end is determined by the toss of a coin (or the team closest to the centre in a pre-tournament draw challenge) and thereafter the non-scoring team decides the starting positions. One stone is set just behind the centre of the circles and the other stone is set short of the circles. The team whose stone is short of the circles starts the end and no stone is moved out of play until after the first 3 stones have been played.

Although the scoring and general play is the same as the normal game, Mixed Doubles requires a different tactical outlook. This explains why the Mixed Doubles teams are often not made up of the top regular international curlers.