The Game of Life is a cellular automaton created by mathematician John Conway. A cellular automaton is a type of simulation. In the Game of Life, there is a grid of cells in which each cell is either dead or alive. In this example, black squares represent living cells and white squares represent dead cells. As the simulation runs, cells switch between being dead and alive based on a set of rules:
- Any live cell with fewer than two live neighbours dies.
- Any live cell with more than three live neighbours dies.
- Any live cell with two or three live neighbours lives, unchanged, to the next generation.
- Any dead cell with exactly three live neighbours will come to life.
These rules generate complex interactions. Click the canvas to start the simulation with randomized cells. Clicking the canvas again will restart it.
Game of Life by p5.js Contributors and the Processing Foundation is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Related Examples
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A small green circle hovering over a yellow tilted plane at the bottom of the canvas.
Non-Orthogonal Reflection
Simulate a ball bouncing on a slanted surface.
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A yellow pentagon on a black background.
Soft Body
Simulate the physics of a soft body accelerating toward the mouse.
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9 multicolored circles at varying heights on a grey background.
Forces
Simulate forces on multiple bodies as they move through liquid.
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Rainbow colored smoke angled towards the right of the canvas, with a white arrow above the smoke pointing right.
Smoke Particles
Simulate smoke with a particle system.
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Grid of squares made of black lines on a white background. Some squares are filled in with solid black.
Game of Life
Recreate John Conway's cellular automaton.
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Colorful rendering of the Mandelbrot set.
Mandelbrot Set
Visualize a mathematical set that produces fractal structures.