Infinite grid of cells

Cells are either alive or dead

Cells update based on surrounding cells

Live cells with <2 neighbors die from exposure

Live cells with >3 neighbors die from overpopulation

Live cells with 2-3 neighbors survive.

Dead cells with 3 neighbors come to life (are "born")

A random grid evolves over time

Some patterns have structure

This is a "Glider" and it will move diagonally forever

A pattern that moves in one direction, returning to the same shape after a number of steps, but in a new place

Some ships are faster or slower than others

LWSS, MWSS, HWSS, Copperhead, Weekender, Clogged Blinker Puffer

A pattern that repeats itself after a number of steps (its "period")

In reading order: p15, p14, p3, p32, p3, p8, p2, p8, p8

Website that catalogs 3000+ unique patterns and structures

150+ unique spaceships

600+ unique oscillators

Over 1.5 years, a team built an entire computer out of cells in GoL

3M×10M cells in size

Contains PC hardware and a programming language