Pixel Evolution Lab

Watch life emerge from a few simple rules.

Pixel Evolution Lab is a beautiful, fast simulator for cellular automata – the mathematical worlds made famous by Conway's Game of Life. Each cell only looks at its eight neighbors. Yet out of random noise, gliders take flight, oscillators pulse and whole cities of still lifes appear. No plan, no script – order simply emerges.

Version 2.0 is a complete redesign: the simulation fills the entire screen, the controls float above it, and every change you make in the lab is visible instantly.

EXPLORE
• Full-screen simulation powered by Metal – smooth even with hundreds of thousands of cells
• Pinch to zoom, drag to explore, double-tap to see the whole world
• Play, pause, single step and speeds from 1 to 60 generations per second, plus Turbo
• Afterglow: dying cells fade out slowly and reveal motion and history
• Evolution tracker with population, density, births and deaths

DISCOVER
• Pattern library with explanations: glider, spaceships, pulsar, pentadecathlon, the Gosper glider gun and famous methuselahs like the R-pentomino, Acorn and Diehard
• 18 universes with different laws of nature – from Conway's Life and HighLife to Day & Night, Maze, Coral, Amoeba and Replicator
• 9 color worlds, from phosphor green to amber, ice, magma and paper

CREATE (PRO)
• Draw and erase cells right in the field – with your finger or Apple Pencil, with undo
• Build your own rules in B/S notation
• Mix your own colors
• Save your creations in your own gallery

RELAX
• Ambient mode hides all controls, keeps the screen on and starts a new world whenever the current one settles – a digital campfire for your desk
• Share beautiful pictures of your worlds
• The app remembers where you left off

FREE AND FAIR
The free version includes the full simulation with zoom, single step and Turbo, three universes, three color worlds, afterglow and four classic patterns. Pro unlocks everything else with a single one-time purchase – no subscription.

No ads. No tracking. No account. Your worlds stay on your device.

Download Pixel Evolution Lab and start your first universe.