Leader badge

A cross-platform application for exploring Conway's Game of Life and many other types of cellular automata.

Features

  • Bounded or unbounded universes with up to 256 states.
  • Fast generating algorithms.
  • Reads a variety of common CA and graphical formats.
  • Unlimited undo/redo for difficult pattern editing tasks.
  • User-configurable keyboard shortcuts for menu items and scripts.
  • Scriptable via Lua or Python.
  • User-definable rules.
  • State-of-the-art pattern collection.

Project Samples

Larger than Life on Mac OS X 3D.lua on Mac OS X WireWorld prime calculator on Linux Cloned layers on Windows

Project Activity

See All Activity >

Categories

Games, Mathematics

License

GNU General Public License version 2.0 (GPLv2)

Follow Golly

Golly Web Site

Other Useful Business Software
$300 Free Credits for Your Google Cloud Projects Icon
$300 Free Credits for Your Google Cloud Projects

Start building on Google Cloud with $300 in free credits. No commitment, no credit card required until you're ready to scale.

Launch your next project with $300 in free Google Cloud credits—no strings attached. Test, build, and deploy without risk. Use your credits across the entire Google Cloud platform to find what works best for your needs. After your credits are used, continue with always-free tier services. Only pay when you're ready to scale. Sign up in minutes and start exploring.
Start Free Trial
Rate This Project
Login To Rate This Project

User Ratings

5.0 out of 5 stars
★★★★★
★★★★
★★★
★★
★
37
0
0
0
0
ease 1 of 5 2 of 5 3 of 5 4 of 5 5 of 5 4 / 5
features 1 of 5 2 of 5 3 of 5 4 of 5 5 of 5 4 / 5
design 1 of 5 2 of 5 3 of 5 4 of 5 5 of 5 4 / 5
support 1 of 5 2 of 5 3 of 5 4 of 5 5 of 5 4 / 5

User Reviews

Filter Reviews:
All
  • truphane Posted 2025-11-05
    Terrific program BUT one minor request: --> Make the "+" and "-" zoom tools - when held down - act like the "hand" tool. This will help a lot. Make them zoom only on a brief click & release. Right now, zooming in with the "+" tool almost always moves the pattern further off center. I can use the arrow keys to move it back but those operate in steps. A hand tool would be intuitive and smoother, but I can't be switching back and forth from that. Thanks!
    Reply from Golly
    Posted 2025-11-08
    If you want to zoom in/out without changing the central position, hit the ]/[ keys. If you'd prefer different keys to do that, open Preferences > Keyboard and assign any keys you like to the Zoom In / Out actions.
  • alex_ander Posted 2023-02-04
    A simple and intuitive Conway simulator game. Thanks.
  • horab Posted 2022-12-25
    Perhaps it would be interesting to be able to import 2-bit bitmap graphics.
    Reply from Golly
    Edited 2025-11-09
    You can. See Help > File Menu > Open Pattern.
  • barthdry Posted 2021-06-24
    Useful Conway game of light compiler or simulator
  • oshanruiz Posted 2016-12-11
    Very cool, Thanks for this project.
Read more reviews >

Additional Project Details

Operating Systems

BSD, Linux, Mac, Windows

Languages

English

Intended Audience

End Users/Desktop

User Interface

Cocoa (MacOS X), Win32 (MS Windows), wxWidgets

Programming Language

C++

Related Categories

C++ Games, C++ Mathematics Software

Registered

2005-05-19
Report inappropriate content