In 1970 the British mathematician John Conway (1937–2020) invented the Game Of Life which is a cellular automaton based on a few simple but very carefully selected rules so that its transitions somewhat resemble the growth of populations or cells, allowing for very complex "creatures" to evolve.

If you want to see some action just click on "Random" and do 100 generations. If you however want to do real experiments then use the mouse to create a few creatures and see how they develop.

For more information, including collections of special creatures, check out the following pages:

• Wikipedia article on Conway's Game Of Life