Conway's Game of Life

Conway Portrait

Conway's Game of Life is a cellular automaton devised by the mathematician John Horton Conway. It consists of a grid of cells that can live, die, or multiply based on a set of rules. Use the control buttons above to manage the simulation. Click the "Configure" button to access and adjust the game settings, including the number of rows and columns, simulation speed, colors, initial patterns, and different rule sets. After making any changes to the settings, be sure to click the "Setup Grid" button to apply the new configurations.

How to Use Conway's Game of Life:

  1. Configure Settings: Click the "Configure" button to reveal the game settings panel. Here, you can adjust the number of rows and columns, set the simulation speed (FPS), choose colors for the background, cells, and grid, select an initial pattern, enable Creative Mode, select a rule set (or define a custom rule), and adjust the canvas size.
  2. Multiple Rule Sets: You can choose from several predefined rule sets (B3/S23, B36/S23, B2/S, 2x2, Day & Night), or define a custom rule in the "Configure" panel by selecting "Custom" and entering a rule string (e.g., B3/S23).
  3. Symmetric Patterns: If you want to generate symmetric patterns, check the "Symmetric Patterns" box and specify the desired square size. This will create a random pattern in the specified square and mirror it symmetrically across both the x and y axes.
  4. Setup Grid: After configuring your settings, click the "Setup Grid" button to initialize the grid based on your chosen parameters. This step is crucial to apply any changes you made in the settings.
  5. Start Simulation: Click the "Start Simulation" button to begin the evolution of the grid according to the selected rule set.
  6. Pause Simulation: At any point, you can pause the simulation by clicking the "Stop" button.
  7. Reset Grid: To clear the current grid and start fresh, click the "Reset Grid" button.
  8. Save and Load Configurations: Use the "Save Map" button to download your current grid configuration as a JSON file. You can later load this configuration by clicking the "Load Map" button and selecting your saved file.
  9. Creative Mode: If you enable Creative Mode, you can manually toggle the state of individual cells by clicking on them within the grid.
  10. Random Cell Colors: If you enable the "Random Cell Colors" option, each live cell will be rendered with a randomly generated color.
  11. Important: Whenever you change any settings, always remember to click the "Setup Grid" button to ensure they are applied correctly before starting the simulation.

Enjoy experimenting with different patterns, rule sets, and settings to explore the fascinating behaviors of cellular automata!