Birth: Empty cells with a same-color neighbor count in the Birth range are born as that color (default: 3-5, adjustable)
Evolution: Cells with a neighbor count in the Evolution range evolve to the next color (default: 4-5, adjustable). Evolution is checked FIRST, allowing overlap with survival range for dynamic color changes
Survival: Cells with a neighbor count in the Survival range survive (default: 2-5, adjustable). Only applies if evolution doesn't trigger
Death: Cells die with <2 neighbors (isolation) or at/above the Death threshold (overpopulation, default: 6+, adjustable)
Final Color Special: Cells at the top of the color hierarchy that reach evolution range spawn a moving white spore then die (with Moving Cells ON) or evolve back to white (OFF)
Color Expansion Rate: Controls stagnation threshold (1-300 generations, default: 100). Affects both Moving Cells spawning and Neighbors Fight conversion speed. Lower = faster action, higher = more stability
Moving Cells (Toggleable): When ON, stagnant cells (3+ same-color neighbors unchanged for Color Expansion Rate) spawn moving cells. Moving cells travel outward (70% straight/30% turn), pass through other movers, and after 4+ frames: stop on same color or convert entire groups of different colors
Neighbors Fight (Toggleable): When ON, stagnant cells of a higher-color will convert adjacent lower-colored neighbors. This occurs based on the Color Expansion Rate (1-300 steps). This can break stagnation and create color battles or territory expansion
Color Hierarchy: White is the base color; the rest of the swatches step around a Red→Orange→Yellow→Green→Blue→Purple color wheel spread evenly by the Color Swatches slider (1-31 total, default 7), and the final color loops back around to spawn a White spore. Fewer swatches means cells are more likely to match a same-colored neighbor; more swatches spreads the population thinner across more distinct colors
Drawing Tools:
Color Selection: Click any color swatch to select a drawing color, then click/drag on canvas to draw cells
Eraser (🧽): Click to activate/deactivate: 25×25 → OFF. Red circle shows eraser size and fills when actively erasing
Line Tool (╱): Click start point, move mouse (red preview line), click end point to draw straight line
Select Tool (⬚): Click two points on canvas to select a rectangular area. Selection is automatically copied. Click and drag anywhere within the selection box to move the cells to a new position. Save button (💾) appears in bottom-right of selection box
Paste Tool (📋): After selecting/copying or loading a saved pattern, click Paste then click anywhere on canvas to place the pattern
Load Pattern (📂): Opens saved patterns library organized by rule sets. Click any pattern to load it for pasting
Random (🎲): Click to fill canvas with random cells in the currently selected color
Zoom: Cycles through OFF → IN (click to zoom in) → OUT (click to zoom out) → OFF. Auto-limited to prevent black space based on canvas size
Pattern Management:
Rule Set Organization: Patterns are automatically organized into rule sets based on your current game rules (Birth, Survival, Evolution, Death, Color Expansion, Neighbors Fight, Moving Cells). When you save a pattern with new rules, you'll be prompted to name a new rule set
Save Pattern: Use Select Tool to select an area, then click the green 💾 button in bottom-right of selection box. If your current rules match an existing rule set, the pattern is saved there automatically. If rules are different, you'll name a new rule set first, then name the pattern
Load Pattern: Click the 📂 Load Pattern button to view all rule sets and their patterns. Rule sets appear as collapsible sections showing rule details and pattern count. Click any pattern to load it into paste mode
Export/Import: Export individual rule sets or all rule sets as JSON files. Import previously exported files to restore or share your pattern libraries. Handles name collisions automatically
Delete: Delete individual patterns or entire rule sets with all their patterns from the Load Pattern dialog
Game Controls:
Play/Pause (▶): Start or pause the simulation
Step: Advance exactly one generation (useful for examining patterns closely)
Clear: Erase all cells from the canvas
Speed Slider: Adjust simulation speed from 1 (slowest) to 30 (fastest) generations per second
Canvas Size: Custom width/height with dropdowns (50-500 cells). Click "Apply Size" to rebuild grid. On mobile devices this control is hidden and the grid auto-sizes to 100×150
Tips: Avoid a birth minimum of 0 because it causes very unpleasant blinking. Open the birth range to create mind-blowing reactions. Try wide survival ranges (like 2-6) with narrower evolution ranges (like 4-5) for dynamic color shifting! Bring the survival minimum down to 0 and watch crystal-like growths form. Use rule sets to organize your discoveries - experiment with different combinations of rules and toggles, then save patterns for each configuration!