With kind permission from Edwin Martin's Homepage
The Game
The Game of Life is not your typical computer game. It is a 'cellular
automaton', and was invented by Cambridge mathematician John Conway.
This game became widely known when it was mentioned in an article published
by Scientific American in 1971. It consists of a collection of cells which,
based on a few mathematical rules, can live, die or multiply. Depending on
the initial conditions, the cells form various patterns throughout the course of the game
The Rules
- For a space that is 'populated':
- Each cell with one or no neighbors dies, as if by loneliness.
- Each cell with four or more neighbors dies, as if by overpopulation.
- Each cell with two or three neighbors survives.
- For a space that is 'empty' or 'unpopulated'
- Each cell with three neighbors becomes populated.
The Controls
Choose a figure from the pull-down menu or make one yourself by clicking on
the cells with a mouse. A new generation of cells (corresponding to one
iteration of the rules) is initiated by the 'Next' button. The 'Start'
button advances the game by several generations.
Game speed is regulated by the up and down arrow keys.
The Links
- This page is also available in dutch.
- Programmers might be interested in the Java-source.
- An ex-colleague of me made an ActiveX-version.
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Life is a bit -
Edwin Martin <edwin@bitstorm.org>