Conway’s Game of Life Rules

🧩 Basic Setup

• The simulation runs on a grid of square cells.
  
• Each cell can be in one of two states:
  
  • Alive (filled square)
    
  • Dead (empty square)
    
• The grid evolves in steps (called generations).
  
• Each cell looks at its 8 neighbors (horizontal, vertical, diagonal) to decide its next state.
  

📜 Rules (applied to each cell, every generation)

1. Underpopulation

If a living cell has fewer than 2 living neighbors → it dies.

2. Survival

If a living cell has 2 or 3 living neighbors → it stays alive.

3. Overpopulation

If a living cell has more than 3 living neighbors → it dies.

4. Reproduction

If a dead cell has exactly 3 living neighbors → it becomes alive.

🔁 How a Generation Works

1. Count the alive neighbors for each cell.
   
2. Apply the 4 rules above.
   
3. Update all cells simultaneously (no in-between states).
   

🎯 Notes

• The rules are deterministic — same input always gives same output.
  
• The game has no user interaction during runtime — set the start, then watch.
  
• A small initial pattern can lead to stable, oscillating, or expanding behavior.
  

🧠 Extra Concepts (Optional)

🔁 Still Lifes

Patterns that do not change over time.
Example: Block, Beehive.

⏳ Oscillators

Patterns that repeat every N generations.
Example: Blinker (N = 2), Toad (N = 2), Pulsar (N = 3)

🚀 Spaceships

Patterns that move across the grid over time.
Example: Glider, Lightweight Spaceship

✅ Summary (Quick Reference)