## What is this?

John Conway's famous "Game of Life" is not a "game" in the traditional sense. It is a cellular automaton meant to very simply (and unrealistically) simulate the development of a population of cells. Each cell behaves according to the following simple rules:

1. Any live cell with fewer than two live neighbours dies, as if caused by under-population.
2. Any live cell with two or three live neighbours lives on to the next generation.
3. Any live cell with more than three live neighbours dies, as if by overcrowding.
4. Any dead cell with exactly three live neighbours becomes a live cell, as if by reproduction.

Cells with more neighbors will appear brighter and cells with fewer neighbors will appear darker. (This was not part of the original game of life, but I've included it to help illustrate how the cells interact.)

## So what do I do?

"Run"/"Stop" will let you toggle whether or not the game is running, "Step" will allow you to see a single step from the current configuration of cells, and "Clear" will kill all the cells on the screen. You can add or remove cells by clicking. Try making your own starting configuration of cells and seeing how those cells "evolve" over time.

This page allows you to play two or three independent games at the same time. By selected "2-Color Matrix" or "3-Color Matrix", you can see multiples games overlapping and the colors of the cells combining to form new colors. It doesn't serve any purpose, but it's fun to watch.
