Living Cells
Explore Conway's Game of Life
Free · Designed for iPad. Not verified for macOS.
Draw, combine patterns, and watch what happens. Explore Conway’s Game of Life with easy speed controls, a visual pattern library, and room to experiment.
Draw a few cells. Press Play. See what they become.
Living Cells is a space to explore Conway’s Game of Life on iPad and iPhone. Three simple rules create patterns that stay still, repeat, travel, or grow into something unexpected.
BUILD YOUR OWN EXPERIMENTS
Draw directly on the board or choose from a visual pattern library. Add a glider beside an oscillator, place several copies, and see how they interact. Every pattern joins your existing board. Undo lets you try another arrangement.
WATCH AT YOUR OWN PACE
Adjust the speed while the simulation runs, pause to inspect a pattern, or advance one generation at a time. Pinch to zoom, drag to move around, or fit the entire board on screen.
DISCOVER FAMILIAR PATTERNS
Browse previews and search by name or category. Explore still lifes, oscillators, spaceships, and seeds such as Acorn. Try a Pulsar or a Gosper Glider Gun, then combine it with your own ideas.
LEARN THROUGH EXPLORATION
Optional examples introduce a blinker and a glider. Discover which cells survive, where new cells appear, and how a shape can seem to move even though each cell only lives or dies. The simulation follows Conway’s original rules throughout.
MADE FOR ROOM TO PLAY
Explore in landscape on iPad, or use either orientation on iPhone. Pan and zoom across the same 50 × 50 board. Cells outside the board are empty, so reaching an edge can change a pattern’s future.
No account, ads, or in-app purchases. Just cells, simple rules, and your curiosity.
Ratings & Reviews
- This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
More room to explore, with simpler controls:
• Adjust simulation speed directly with a slider, even during playback.
• Browse pattern previews, search the library, and filter by category.
• Drag patterns onto the board or select one to place repeatedly. Additions preserve your existing cells.
• Undo placements and edits to try another idea.
• Pan, pinch to zoom, and use dedicated zoom and fit-board buttons.
• Discover blinkers, gliders, and Conway’s rules in the separate Learn section.
• Enjoy improved iPad landscape and iPhone layouts.
• Fixed the board shifting between generations.
The underlying Game of Life rules are unchanged.
The developer, Matthias Robin Orgler, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Matthias Robin Orgler
- Size
- 3.9 MB
- Category
- Education
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 26.1 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 26.1 or later. - iPad
Requires iPadOS 26.1 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 26.1 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later. - Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 26.1 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- Copyright
- © 2026 Matthias Orgler