The Game of Life was created in 1970 by the mathematician John Conway.
Played on an infinite two-dimensional grid, the Game of Life is a cellular automaton where each cell can be alive or dead. With each turn, called a generation, a cell’s state updates based on the states of its eight immediate neighbors—those touching it horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
The starting pattern forms the first generation. The second generation emerges by applying the rules to every cell simultaneously, meaning all births and deaths occur at the same time. This process repeats to create subsequent generations. At each step, a cell's next state is governed by two core rules:
For a living cell, it survives only if it has exactly 2 or 3 live neighbors.
A dead cell becomes alive only if it has exactly 3 live neighbors.
Naturally, countless rule variations exist, defined by different numbers for birth and survival. Conway tested many alternatives before choosing these specific parameters. Some rules lead to rapid extinction, while others trigger unlimited expansion. The chosen rules sit precisely on the boundary between these extremes. As often seen in chaotic systems, this delicate balance between growth and decay is where the most complex and fascinating patterns arise.
