Conway’s Game Of Life Simulator

Conway Game of Life Simulator compared with Golly
Conway Game of Life Simulator	Golly
Delivery and installation: Runs in the browser through the embedded LifeViewer on conwaylife.com. Nothing to install, so it suits teaching and quick tests.	Delivery and installation: A desktop application for Windows, macOS and Linux, with separate apps for iPad and Android. Version 5.0 was released in October 2025.
Rules and models: Focused on Conway Game of Life and related cellular automata. The site links to LifeWiki and Catagolue for known patterns.	Rules and models: Supports Conway Life plus von Neumann 29-state, Wolfram 1D rules, WireWorld, Generations, Paterson Worms and Larger than Life. New rules can be added with RuleLoader.
Scale and algorithms: A large grid for an online tool, with drawing, erasing and step-back at any stage. Limits come from the browser.	Scale and algorithms: Bounded and unbounded universes with up to 256 cell states, and several algorithms including Hashlife, which handles very large and long-running patterns.
Scripting and analysis: Interactive use only. Edits are made by hand on the grid.	Scripting and analysis: Scripts in Lua or Python allow batch runs, pattern generation and measurements. This matters for research on complex systems.
Typical user: Students and newcomers learning how still lifes, oscillators and spaceships behave.	Typical user: Researchers and advanced hobbyists searching for patterns or testing other automata rules.

Conway Game of Life Simulator compared with Golly

Conway Game of Life Simulator

Golly

Delivery and installation: Runs in the browser through the embedded LifeViewer on conwaylife.com. Nothing to install, so it suits teaching and quick tests.

Delivery and installation: A desktop application for Windows, macOS and Linux, with separate apps for iPad and Android. Version 5.0 was released in October 2025.

Rules and models: Focused on Conway Game of Life and related cellular automata. The site links to LifeWiki and Catagolue for known patterns.

Rules and models: Supports Conway Life plus von Neumann 29-state, Wolfram 1D rules, WireWorld, Generations, Paterson Worms and Larger than Life. New rules can be added with RuleLoader.

Scale and algorithms: A large grid for an online tool, with drawing, erasing and step-back at any stage. Limits come from the browser.

Scale and algorithms: Bounded and unbounded universes with up to 256 cell states, and several algorithms including Hashlife, which handles very large and long-running patterns.

Scripting and analysis: Interactive use only. Edits are made by hand on the grid.

Scripting and analysis: Scripts in Lua or Python allow batch runs, pattern generation and measurements. This matters for research on complex systems.

Typical user: Students and newcomers learning how still lifes, oscillators and spaceships behave.

Typical user: Researchers and advanced hobbyists searching for patterns or testing other automata rules.