The Game of Life

Go to this https://bitstorm.org/gameoflife/ and colour in a 2 by 2 square on the screen like this:

Press start. Nothing should happen to the square. Why?

Well, because each yellow square has exactly 3 neighbours so all survive. There are no other cells that have exactly 3 neighbours so no new cells are born.

Now try with a three by three cell:

Press start. What happens?

Try to work out on paper what you think would happen for a 4 x 4 shape.

Then test your answer.

How about 5 x 5, 6 x 6 and 7 x 7?

Have a play around and see what fun patterns you can make.

You might like to read the article from Plus Maths or even try this question from the 1996 British Informatics Olympiad.