Game of Life

This Java applet is not your typical computer game. Rather, it is an implementation of a cellular automaton that mathematician John Conway chose to call "The Game of Life." Each of the cells in the two-dimensional grid is either populated (alive) or unpopulated (dead). Starting with any initial pattern of cells, each successive generation is computed using the following rules.

• If a cell is currently populated (alive):
  • It survives in the next generation if it currently has 2 or 3 neighbors.
  • It dies in the next generation from loneliness if it currently has 0 or 1 neighbors.
  • It dies in the next generation from overcrowding if it currently has 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 neighbors.
• If a cell is currently unpopulated (dead):
  • It becomes populated (alive) in the next generation if it currently has exactly 3 neighbors.
  • It remains unpopulated (dead) in the next generation if it currently has 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 neighbors.

Source code

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