Conway’s Game of Life – Draw Cells and Watch Generations Evolve
Click cells to bring them to life and press “Play”. With one simple rule – a live cell with two or three neighbors survives, and a dead cell with exactly three neighbors is born – patterns move, grow and disappear on their own. Famous patterns such as the glider, pulsar and Gosper glider gun can be placed with one click. If you like puzzles, try Minesweeper too.
🔒 Runs in your browser · Your data is never sent to a server
Generation: 0Live cells: 0
How to use
- Click or drag on the board to bring cells to life; click again to remove one. You can also drop a famous pattern from "Choose a pattern".
- Press "Play" to advance generations. Use "Speed" to change how many generations run per second.
- Press "Step" to advance one generation at a time and see exactly what changes.
- Use "Randomize" to start from a random layout, and "Clear" to empty the board.
Notes
- All calculation happens in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server.
- The rules are the standard Conway rules (B3/S23). With "Wrap around edges" off, everything outside the board is treated as dead; with it on, the edges connect to form a torus.
- Changing the board size resets the current board and generation counter.
- Playback stops automatically when the board stops changing or every cell dies. Oscillators (such as the blinker) and spaceships (such as the glider) keep changing, so they never stop on their own.
- There is no save or share feature. Reloading the page clears your layout.
- The board is drawn with the mouse or touch. From the keyboard you can use the buttons such as "Play", "Step" and "Randomize", and place patterns.
Glossary
Game of Life (Conway’s)
A cellular automaton devised by mathematician John Conway in 1970. Cells on a grid are alive or dead, and the next generation is decided only by how many of the eight surrounding cells are alive. It is the classic example of simple rules producing complex behavior.
Still life, oscillator, spaceship
The main kinds of pattern. A still life never changes (the block), an oscillator returns to the same shape after a fixed period (blinker, pulsar), and a spaceship keeps its shape while moving across the board (glider).
Glider gun
A pattern that keeps firing gliders at a regular interval. The Gosper glider gun, found by Bill Gosper in 1970, was the first known pattern whose population grows without bound.
Torus (wrap around)
Joining the left edge to the right and the top to the bottom so the board has no edges. Spaceships that reach an edge reappear on the opposite side instead of crashing.
FAQ
What are the rules of the Game of Life?
A live cell survives to the next generation if two or three of its eight neighbors are alive; otherwise it dies of loneliness (0–1) or overcrowding (4+). A dead cell becomes alive if exactly three neighbors are alive. This tool uses these standard rules (B3/S23).
Why does playback stop on its own?
Playback stops automatically when every cell has died or when the board no longer changes (only still lifes remain). Patterns that keep moving, such as blinkers and gliders, never stop. Turn on "Wrap around edges" so spaceships keep travelling instead of crashing at the border.
What does "Wrap around edges" do?
It joins the left edge to the right and the top to the bottom so the board becomes a torus with no edges. When it is off, everything outside the board is dead, so a glider that reaches the border collapses into a small still life.
Can I save or share my board?
No. The layout only exists in your browser and is not stored anywhere, so reloading the page clears it. Take a screenshot if you want to keep one.
Why did the board get larger when I placed the glider gun?
The Gosper glider gun is 36 cells wide and does not fit on the "Small (30×20)" board, so the board is switched to Medium automatically when you place it.
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