Play
The Game of Life, invented by mathematician John Conway, is not strictly speaking
a game - it is a mathematical system of a type known as a cellular automaton, of interest both as
a computerised toy and in the study of complex systems. It is "played" on a grid of square
cells, each of which can be "live" or "dead" (vacant). The pattern of cells evolves according to a
simple rule: a new cell grows in any square with three live cells for neighbours, and any cell with
less than two or more than three live neighbours dies. Repeatedly applying this rule produces surprisingly
complex behaviour, depending on the initial pattern. This is an example of emergent complexity
- the phenomenon in which simple local interactions produce highly complex behaviour in a system as
a whole ("the whole is more than the sum of its parts"). The name "Life" derives from the analogy with
the emergent complexity of living things.
Certain patterns are particularly interesting, for example
the "glider", which propagates through the grid of cells, thus moving across the screen although
the rules do not recognise movement in any way.
 a glider |
 glider in action |
The demos included in the applet show other interesting
patterns, and many more can be found on the countless websites devoted to the subject. Further
variations can be created by altering the rules or the geometry of the grid - examples of the results
are shown in the gallery. The applet now includes
an option allowing you to experiment with different rules. Planned improvements include adding geometry
options.
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