Alive or Dead: Game of Life

Life is so simple, it has to live in a very complex way.

The Game of Life is a zero-player cellular automaton invented by mathematician John Horton Conway in 1970. Set an initial pattern of live cells on a grid, then watch it evolve on its own — no moves, no scores, just simple rules producing complex, sometimes beautiful behavior.

Each cell follows four rules based on its eight neighbors: a live cell with fewer than two neighbors dies of isolation, a live cell with two or three neighbors survives, a live cell with more than three neighbors dies of overcrowding, and a dead cell with exactly three neighbors comes to life. Repeat the process, and entire ecosystems of gliders, oscillators, and still lifes emerge from nothing.

Alive or Dead lets you draw or tap cells directly on an adaptive grid, switch between three grid densities, and control the simulation speed. Save any pattern as a photo, or turn it into a QR code to share with friends — then scan a friend's QR code to load their creation into your own grid. Build a personal archive of your favorite patterns and revisit them anytime.

A built-in guide walks you through the rules, and an alternate app icon lets you flip your home screen between "alive" and "dead."