Game of Life: Conway's Automaton Online
Play the game of life in your browser. Conway's Game of Life is a cellular automaton: a grid of cells that are alive or dead, and each generation follows four simple rules based on how many live neighbors a cell has. From these rules come gliders that walk across the grid, blinkers that oscillate, and guns that fire endless streams of gliders. Draw your own cells with the mouse or finger, load a preset pattern, then press Play and watch the generations unfold. The edges wrap around, so a glider that leaves one side comes back on the other.
Conway's Game of Life
Draw cells, press play and watch patterns evolve.
How to use the Conway's Game of Life
- Click or drag on the grid to draw live cells, or pick a preset pattern.
- Press Play to run the generations, or Step to advance one at a time.
- Use the speed slider to run faster or slower.
- Press Clear to start over, or Random to fill the grid.
Features
- Draw with mouse or touch
- Presets: glider, blinker, pulsar, glider gun and more
- Play, pause and single-step
- Adjustable speed
- Wrap-around edges
- Generation and population counters
Frequently asked questions
What are the rules of the Game of Life?
A live cell with 2 or 3 live neighbors survives, any other live cell dies, and a dead cell with exactly 3 live neighbors becomes alive.
What is a glider?
A glider is a small pattern of 5 cells that moves one cell diagonally every 4 generations, so it appears to walk across the grid.
Do the edges wrap around?
Yes. The grid is a torus, so anything that leaves the right edge appears on the left, and the same for top and bottom.
Is the Game of Life a real game?
It is a zero-player game: you set up the starting cells and the rules do the rest. It was invented by the mathematician John Conway in 1970.
Can I draw my own pattern?
Yes. Click or drag on the grid to turn cells on or off while it is paused or running.