# Game of Life and Death > Competitive cellular automaton game based on Conway's Game of Life. (iPhone/iPad app by Michael Huang.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/game-of-life-and-death/id1156743291 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Michael Huang](https://appshunter.io/developer/1062423258) - Category: Games, Board, Puzzle - Price: Free - Rating: 4.70/5 from 101 App Store ratings · 103 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 6.0 · 38 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2016-09-23 - Data updated: 2026-06-10 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/game-of-life-and-death/id1156743291/reviews.md ## What is Game of Life and Death? In Game of Life and Death, the popular cellular automaton Conway's Game of Life turns competitive. Two players control the red and blue cells and fight to be the last surviving color. Strategies to win GOLAD can range from as simple as killing the most fertile cell, to as complex as searching through all possible moves and finding the best one. The game comes with a tutorial that is easy to follow for even newcomers to the Game of Life. This game also comes with three levels of AI GOLAD players: dumb, okay, and smart. To be honest, even the smart AI can be beaten relatively easily. ## Key features - Competitive cellular automaton gameplay - Two-player cell control - Strategic cell elimination - In-game tutorial - Multiple AI difficulty levels ## What do users think of Game of Life and Death? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 💡 Unique strategic gameplay concept - 👍 Easy to learn, hard to master - 🎮 Free with no ads or in-app purchases - 🤖 Multiple AI difficulty levels - 🎯 Simple yet addictive mechanics - 🎨 Sandbox mode for experimentation - ⚡ Quick to understand interface - 🏆 Engaging competitive gameplay - 📱 Works on multiple platforms - 🎪 Creative twist on Conway's Game of Life **Cons** - 🐛 Game crashes on button presses - 🐛 Multiplayer functionality broken - 😕 Poor tutorial explanation - 🎨 Minimal graphics and UI polish - 📏 Limited board size (max 20x20) - 🔧 Clunky user interface - ❌ Lack of ongoing updates - 🎮 Confusing game mechanics for new players - ⚠️ Online mode unreliable - 📚 Unclear rule explanations (B3/S23) **Commonly reported bugs** - Game crashes when pressing non-resume buttons - Online multiplayer crashes on game continuation - GameCenter multiplayer doesn't work - Game freezes at 'Made with Unity' splash screen - Cells die incorrectly with 3 neighbors rule - Game locks up requiring iOS 10 update or game deletion - Glitches in selection menu - All cells die on first turn in new games - Online mode finicky and unreliable **Most requested features** - Larger map sizes with zoom/scroll functionality - Tournament mode - More player support (up to 6 players) - Paint/brush feature for sandbox mode - Unbeatable/chess-worthy AI difficulty - Automatic deletion of old saved games - Better thumbnail design - Improved graphics and visual polish - More game modes and variations - Better rule explanation system ## Recent user reviews (10 of 103) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/game-of-life-and-death/id1156743291/reviews.md ### 1/5 — Game crashes when presses anything other than resume *2023-12-03, version 1.7* The game stopped working when I press a button it crashes I love this Game please fix. ### 5/5 — Which BFDI fans came here because this game was made by one of the H twins *2023-05-28* I came here because of a carykh video ### 5/5 — It’s very cool *2022-04-02, version 1.7* It’s very cool ### 5/5 — WOO! *2021-06-20, version 1.7* Woo! Golad is back! ### 1/5 — this game...is boring *2021-01-24, version 1.7* ok first of all if you turn a simulator into a strategy game then well...it’s not gonna turn out great second of all its design looks like something you would make on like the fifth day of coding school and finally even the smartest ai will look more like a noob the smaller the board size is please don’t get this game it’s not worth it ### 5/5 — Yo yo yo *2021-01-15, version 1.7* This is great! ### 5/5 — A pretty good game *2020-08-17, version 1.7* It takes no time to learn and has a unique twist on classic. Some more game modes would be cool like a tournament mode but overall a great game. Did I mention that there are no ads or in app purchases? ### 5/5 — One of the best games ever UwU *2020-06-19, version 1.7* Lol carykh your awesome this is great but maybe add more players, if you made it up to 6 players then I’ll just FLIP OUT!!!! :O Please add as many as you can thanks ### 5/5 — Well done *2020-06-12, version 1.7* This game is so simple, yet so addictive. Well done! ### 5/5 — Fun, would recommend *2020-04-01* I got this game after watching a carykh video. Me and my mom played this game together and we thought it was very fun. This is why I rated 5 star. ## Frequently asked questions about Game of Life and Death ### What is Game of Life and Death? Game of Life and Death is a competitive adaptation of Conway's Game of Life. Two players control different colored cells and battle to eliminate the opponent's cells, aiming to be the last surviving color on the board. ### How do I learn to play? The game includes an easy-to-follow tutorial designed for newcomers to the Game of Life. This tutorial will guide you through the basic mechanics and strategies required to play. ### Can I play against the computer? Yes, you can play against three different AI opponents: dumb, okay, and smart. While the smart AI can be challenging, it is designed to be beatable. ### Is this game free? Yes, the application is completely free to download and play. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements mentioned. ### What kind of strategies can I use? Strategies can vary from simple tactics like eliminating the most fertile cells to more complex approaches involving analyzing all possible moves to find the optimal strategy for victory. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 1.7 — 2017-02-27 This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon. GOLAD 1.7 updates (minor) -Made Game Center the recommended method of online games again, even though HTwins games are still available. -Fixed a bug where if you were in sandbox mode, went to the menu, and then put in a game string, you would get some nonsensical board where the taps of the game were interpreted as simply taps on the sandbox board. That's fixed now. -Removed the "auto-refresh" feature that would check to see if your HTwins game had been updated every ten seconds. GOLAD 1.6 updates -Implemented HTwins online games, which are faster than GameCenter games, and cross-platform! Unfortunately, you don’t get notifications for your turn in these games, but that’s why you get to choose between HTwins and GameCenter. -Fixed bug where game strings that result in a game ending right away are now interpreted correctly. -Previously, when Player 1 initiated a game but hadn’t made the first move yet, Player 2 could sneak into the game and make both players’ first moves. That is no longer the case: Player 2 will be met with a message that says “Player 1 isn’t done creating the game yet!” -Allowed sandbox-created games to be spread via GameCenter/HTwins online games -Fixed bug where, going back in history and starting a new “branch” of the tree no longer created “phantom” presses of the “Finish Move Button”. -you can now go from sandbox mode to the main menu, and return to the same sandbox. -In an online game, it now says “(you)” under your own username. -It now shows the version number by the corner of the GOLAD logo. -Made the undo/redo buttons x1.8 faster when held ### 1.6 — 2017-02-23 GOLAD v1.6 updates -Implemented HTwins online games, which are faster than GameCenter games, and cross-platform! Unfortunately, you don’t get notifications for your turn in these games, but that’s why you get to choose between HTwins and GameCenter. -Fixed bug where game strings that result in a game ending right away are now interpreted correctly. -Previously, when Player 1 initiated a game but hadn’t made the first move yet, Player 2 could sneak into the game and make both players’ first moves. That is no longer the case: Player 2 will be met with a message that says “Player 1 isn’t done creating the game yet!” -Allowed sandbox-created games to be spread via GameCenter/HTwins online games -Fixed bug where, going back in history and starting a new “branch” of the tree no longer created “phantom” presses of the “Finish Move Button”. -you can now go from sandbox mode to the main menu, and return to the same sandbox. -In an online game, it now says “(you)” under your own username. -It now shows the version number by the corner of the GOLAD logo. -Made the undo/redo buttons x1.8 faster when held ### 1.5 — 2017-02-14 GOLAD version 1.5 updates (minor) -Natural game endings of online games (caused by population wipeouts) now get sent across the Internet correctly. (So when two players draw, it actually shows them drawing and THEN says you two drew.) -There's now a blinking ellipsis to show who's turn it is, instead of flashing black-and-white text. If it's not that player's active turn, their text is still white, but there is no ellipsis. -On online games, it no longer says each player is "Human" because that is super obvious. Also, that leaves more room for long player names! -The fifth page of the tutorial is worded better now. GOLAD version 1.4 updates (minor) iOS notifications that open up further iOS notifications (as in, two-in-a-row) work again. GOLAD version 1.3 updates (minor) -You can now add in neutral cells in sandbox mode. -When you're in sandbox mode and return to the menu, you can no longer resume the game or get the gamestring, since these actions don't really make sense in that situation. -Added a note that the online games are a "work in progress". -Made it so that if you press "End...", wait for your time to run out, and then Resign/Draw, it no longer warps you to the tutorial. -Sandbox mode no longer has an extra redo game state. GOLAD version 1.2 updates (minor) -The tutorial no longer displays yellow-on-white text on page 1. -The default rulestring is now B3/S23 as it should be, instead of B023/S23 as it shouldn't be. -Starting the tutorial sets the rulestring back to B3/S23. GOLAD version 1.1 updates -Game strings are shortened. Non-board-located moves can now be represented as “E” rather than “@@E”. -Fixed bug where game strings of boards with a natural-caused-loss would not represent the last few moves correctly…to do this, the act that causes the loss and the loss itself have to be separated into two separate events. -Fixed bug where loading game strings of timed games would add the move bonus AGAIN (incorrectly) to the last player’s time. -Fixed bug where popup notifications would cause crashes on iOS 7 or lower. -Added “tap-and-hold” feature on the history “undo/redo” buttons to let the user scroll through history much faster. -Added cool “future-to-present” transition of tiles using cosine interpolation, looks very nice and smooth. -Redesigned the UI to look better, I have both a landscape and a portrait mode -Made it so that you can’t advance through the tutorial until you perform the activities being demonstrated on that page. However, if you click “Prev”, you can still rapidly click “Next” to get to where you left off. -Made it so it asks you if you already know the Game of Life in the tutorial, and if you do, you get to skip 2 pages of the tutorial. -Replaced the 4-sticker-dragging system with a simpler, tap-to-kill-or-birth system. This new system also includes seeing newly birthed cells as empty with two compartments to be filled. -Updated the game strings to be a little less Markdown-risky. Fortunately, old game strings are still converted successfully onto the game board! -Added a white circle to represent the AI’s cursor when the AI is tapping, to make following the location of the tap easier. -Made it so you can’t edit what an AI player does, even if you go back in history, to avoid weird discrepancies where a move was performed by a human but is labeled as being done by AI. -Created a logo for the GOLAD main menu -Added an extremely buggy online multiplayer feature. You can play with friends online at any time by pressing "New Game" and "Online game", but very often, you will receive an error. Usually, the errors are temporary and you just have to wait for it to get better again. ### 1.4 — 2017-02-09 GOLAD version 1.4 updates (minor) iOS notifications that open up further iOS notifications (as in, two-in-a-row) work again. GOLAD version 1.3 updates (minor) -You can now add in neutral cells in sandbox mode. -When you're in sandbox mode and return to the menu, you can no longer resume the game or get the gamestring, since these actions don't really make sense in that situation. -Added a note that the online games are a "work in progress". -Made it so that if you press "End...", wait for your time to run out, and then Resign/Draw, it no longer warps you to the tutorial. -Sandbox mode no longer has an extra redo game state. GOLAD version 1.2 updates (minor) -The tutorial no longer displays yellow-on-white text on page 1. -The default rulestring is now B3/S23 as it should be, instead of B023/S23 as it shouldn't be. -Starting the tutorial sets the rulestring back to B3/S23. GOLAD version 1.1 updates -Game strings are shortened. Non-board-located moves can now be represented as “E” rather than “@@E”. -Fixed bug where game strings of boards with a natural-caused-loss would not represent the last few moves correctly…to do this, the act that causes the loss and the loss itself have to be separated into two separate events. -Fixed bug where loading game strings of timed games would add the move bonus AGAIN (incorrectly) to the last player’s time. -Fixed bug where popup notifications would cause crashes on iOS 7 or lower. -Added “tap-and-hold” feature on the history “undo/redo” buttons to let the user scroll through history much faster. -Added cool “future-to-present” transition of tiles using cosine interpolation, looks very nice and smooth. -Redesigned the UI to look better, I have both a landscape and a portrait mode -Made it so that you can’t advance through the tutorial until you perform the activities being demonstrated on that page. However, if you click “Prev”, you can still rapidly click “Next” to get to where you left off. -Made it so it asks you if you already know the Game of Life in the tutorial, and if you do, you get to skip 2 pages of the tutorial. -Replaced the 4-sticker-dragging system with a simpler, tap-to-kill-or-birth system. This new system also includes seeing newly birthed cells as empty with two compartments to be filled. -Updated the game strings to be a little less Markdown-risky. Fortunately, old game strings are still converted successfully onto the game board! -Added a white circle to represent the AI’s cursor when the AI is tapping, to make following the location of the tap easier. -Made it so you can’t edit what an AI player does, even if you go back in history, to avoid weird discrepancies where a move was performed by a human but is labeled as being done by AI. -Created a logo for the GOLAD main menu -Added an extremely buggy online multiplayer feature. You can play with friends online at any time by pressing "New Game" and "Online game", but very often, you will receive an error. Usually, the errors are temporary and you just have to wait for it to get better again. ### 1.3 — 2017-02-06 GOLAD version 1.3 updates (minor) -You can now add in neutral cells in sandbox mode. -When you're in sandbox mode and return to the menu, you can no longer resume the game or get the gamestring, since these actions don't really make sense in that situation. -Added a note that the online games are a "work in progress". -Made it so that if you press "End...", wait for your time to run out, and then Resign/Draw, it no longer warps you to the tutorial. -Sandbox mode no longer has an extra redo game state. GOLAD version 1.2 updates (minor) -The tutorial no longer displays yellow-on-white text on page 1. -The default rulestring is now B3/S23 as it should be, instead of B023/S23 as it shouldn't be. -Starting the tutorial sets the rulestring back to B3/S23. GOLAD version 1.1 updates -Game strings are shortened. Non-board-located moves can now be represented as “E” rather than “@@E”. -Fixed bug where game strings of boards with a natural-caused-loss would not represent the last few moves correctly…to do this, the act that causes the loss and the loss itself have to be separated into two separate events. -Fixed bug where loading game strings of timed games would add the move bonus AGAIN (incorrectly) to the last player’s time. -Fixed bug where popup notifications would cause crashes on iOS 7 or lower. -Added “tap-and-hold” feature on the history “undo/redo” buttons to let the user scroll through history much faster. -Added cool “future-to-present” transition of tiles using cosine interpolation, looks very nice and smooth. -Redesigned the UI to look better, I have both a landscape and a portrait mode -Made it so that you can’t advance through the tutorial until you perform the activities being demonstrated on that page. However, if you click “Prev”, you can still rapidly click “Next” to get to where you left off. -Made it so it asks you if you already know the Game of Life in the tutorial, and if you do, you get to skip 2 pages of the tutorial. -Replaced the 4-sticker-dragging system with a simpler, tap-to-kill-or-birth system. This new system also includes seeing newly birthed cells as empty with two compartments to be filled. -Updated the game strings to be a little less Markdown-risky. Fortunately, old game strings are still converted successfully onto the game board! -Added a white circle to represent the AI’s cursor when the AI is tapping, to make following the location of the tap easier. -Made it so you can’t edit what an AI player does, even if you go back in history, to avoid weird discrepancies where a move was performed by a human but is labeled as being done by AI. -Created a logo for the GOLAD main menu -Added an extremely buggy online multiplayer feature. You can play with friends online at any time by pressing "New Game" and "Online game", but very often, you will receive an error. Usually, the errors are temporary and you just have to wait for it to get better again. ## Apps similar to Game of Life and Death | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Chesspert](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chesspert/id1476772746) | 4.7 (29) | Free | Games | | [Lazy Chess](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lazy-chess/id1537358433) | 4.4 (67) | Free | Games | | [Labyrinth of Red and Blue](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/labyrinth-of-red-and-blue/id466284593) | 4.1 (11) | Free | Games | | [Twelve Piece Shogi](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/twelve-piece-shogi/id1531326643) | — | Free | Games | | [Color Frenzy!](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/color-frenzy/id1607672180) | — | Free | Games | | [Warlands](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/warlands/id493806952) | 4.0 (167) | Free | Games | ## More apps by Michael Huang - [The Scale of the Universe 2](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-scale-of-the-universe-2/id1062423259) - [Bethreed](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bethreed/id1193814340) All apps by Michael Huang: https://appshunter.io/developer/1062423258 --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*