Conway's Game of Life

Conway's Game of Life is played on a grid of cells with the topology used by the old "Asteroids" arcade game. Cells on the right edge are adjacent to cells on the left edge, and similarly for top and bottom.

Filled cells are "alive." At each "generation," cells remain filled (live), blank out (die), or are filled (born), depending on their environment (the states of the cells that surround them). If N counts the number of filled cells (each cell is adjacent to, or touches, 8 others), then the fate of each cell is determined by the following rules:

Count the number of filled cells surrounding a given cell and call this N.

1. A filled cell lives if N is 2 or 3.
2. A filled cell dies if N is 0 or 1 (isolated) or 4 or larger (crowded).
3. An empty cell is filled (birth) if N is exactly 3.

Using this virtual manipulative you may:

• Run the game continously
• Step through a game
• Add/Remove cells from the board
• Load a named world
• Create your own world
• Master the rules
• Clear the board
• Return to an initial configuration

Run the game continously

Click the Run button. The game will begin and run continously. The caption on the Run button will change to Pause.

Step through a game

When the game is stopped, you may step forward or backward one generation at a time through a game. Step forward by clicking the Step > button. Step backward by clicking the < Step button.

Add/Remove cells from the board

When the game is stopped, you may make an empty cell "live" or a filled cell "die". Make an empty cell "live" by clicking on it, or make a filled cell "die" by clicking on it. Make several filled cells "die" by moving the mouse pointer over the cells while holding down the mouse button and the Ctrl key of your keyboard.

Load a named world

A number of interesting initial worlds are listed by name. To load one of these,When the game is stopped, choose from the list the initial world to load. Click the Run button.

Create your own world

Click the Create Your World button. A dialogue box will be displayed containing a magnified grid that you can use to create a world to load into the board. Fill an empty cell by clicking in it, or clear a filled cell by clicking in it. You can clear several cells easily by moving the cursor over the cells while holding down the mouse button and the Ctrl key of your keyboard.

You can step forward or backward one step at a time by clicking the Step > or < Step button.

When you are satisfied with your initial display, click the Load this World button to load it into the board to run it.

You can also use the World Builder dialogue box to load a random world into the board. Specify a "Percent Initially Alive" value and click the Load Random World button.

Master the rules

Click the Master the Rules button.

A dialogue box will be displayed containing a magnified grid that you can use to learn the rules of this game. Your goal is to predict the next generation, which filled cells will "die" and where "births" will occur. Indicate an empty cell that will be filled (a "birth") by clicking in the cell. A circle will appear to show this prediction. If a cell has too many neighbors and will "die", click. An X will mark your prediction.

When you are satisfied with your prediction, click the Check Answer button to verify if it is correct. If your prediction is correct, the caption on the Check Answer button will change to Step > and you will see the next generation. If your prediction is not correct, the board will indicate your errors, so you can correct your prediction.

Go to the next problem by clicking the Next Problem button. When you are satisfied with your practice, click the Close button to close this dialogue box and return to the game.

Clear the board

Click the Clear World button.

Return to an initial configuration

Click the Recall Initial button.