Conway's Game of Life - A Cellular Automaton
The Game of Life is a cellular automaton created by mathematician John Conway in 1970. It's a zero-player game where the evolution is determined by its initial state, requiring no further input.
Any live cell with 2 or 3 live neighbors survives to the next generation.
Any dead cell with exactly 3 live neighbors becomes a live cell (reproduction).
All other live cells die in the next generation (underpopulation or overpopulation).
All other dead cells stay dead.
Click on cells to toggle them alive or dead before starting.
Random generates a random initial pattern to explore.
Start to watch the simulation evolve according to the rules.
Speed controls how fast generations advance.
Despite its simple rules, the Game of Life exhibits complex, emergent behavior. Patterns can evolve, move, and interact in surprising ways, demonstrating how complexity can arise from simple deterministic rules—much like life itself.