# Golly — user reviews

> 29 indexed App Store user reviews of Golly by Andrew Trevorrow, rated 4.80/5 from 45 ratings.

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/golly/id553184760/reviews
- App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/golly/id553184760.md
- Rating breakdown: 5★ 42 · 4★ 0 · 3★ 1 · 2★ 0 · 1★ 2

## Newest reviews (17 of 29)

### 5/5 — Yes. Just yes.

*2016-10-27, version 1.1*

Ok, golly has always been my absolute favorite GOL simulator. It's so customizable and versatile, and now it's on mobile? Boy am I happy.

### 5/5 — Amazing

*2016-09-18, version 1.1*

I have Golly on my PC as well as on my IPad and I was surprised at how easy it was to use.

It is amazing what you can create with this :)

It doesnt work on IOS 10 though

### 5/5 — Just like the pc one!

*2015-08-17, version 1.1*

Loved this game it was just as good as the one one the pc. I recommend this game

### 5/5 — Surpassed expectations

*2015-07-16, version 1.1*

I love game of life, I'm hooked. But this DEFINITELY surpassed my expectations. I was happily surprised when I saw the save and load options, the preset patterns and a DOWNLOAD BUTTON! I think this is the best yet!

### 5/5 — Old program redone well

*2015-07-13, version 1.1*

Golly has been around for a while and comes from a traditional programming tradition long before iPads, Windows 7, and the like.

This is a good implementation for the iPad and has afforded me many hours of fun and learning about Conway's Game of Life.  There are other cellular simulations, but Life is the real stuff.

### 5/5 — Best GOL (game of life)

*2014-09-13, version 1.1*

To those of you NOT already familiar with Conway's Game of Life, this is not an actual game. It is a simulation of cellular automata. You'll want to do a bit of research before you'll want this app. I suggest running a glider with pencil and graph paper for a few generations, so that you really appreciate this app.  :-)

I downloaded a bunch of GOLs, and this is "the one".  Infinite universe (no wrapping), amazing zoom/pan, amazing speed, amazing library of patterns, great user interface. I can't think of any improvements that don't involve telepathy.

### 5/5 — This is a wonderful app

*2014-03-28, version 1.1*

This app even has John Von Neumann's self replicating machine

### 5/5 — I never expected this to come to the iPad

*2014-01-04, version 1.1*

I was writing my own version, but this is very very fast and so complete, I think there is not much that can be done in this field, but I'm happy as this is so good.

### 5/5 — Very well done

*2013-10-09*

This is very well done, good job guys

### 5/5 — e^ix

*2013-07-09, version 1.1*

This is the best cellular automata/life app by far

### 5/5 — ++++++

*2013-06-03, version 1.1*

Великолепная игра! Всего несколько простых правил позволяют создать бесконечное количество впечатляющих, поражающих своей красотой и сложностью "мирков"
Очень понравилась на PC.
Спасибо разработчику за возможность также удобно и к тому же бесплатно юзать игрушку на iPad:)

### 5/5 — Ohne Zweifel ..

*2013-01-26, version 1.0*

.. die beste und schnellste Game Of Life (unter anderem) App im Store! Ein echtes Kleinod.

Herzlichen Dank an die Entwickler.

### 5/5 — Funky

*2013-01-05, version 1.0*

It's amazing what can happen with just a few rules set in place, you can make a glider with this pattern
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛⬜⬛⬜⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜⬛⬛⬛
⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

### 5/5 — Gliders, Methuselahs (e.g. f-pentomino), spaceships and more.

*2013-01-04, version 1.0*

This is an awesome and quality app. Thanks to the devs!

Very interesting topic with infinite possibilities. Check it out, be creative, it's good for the brain.

### 5/5 — Finally! The best Life on the App Store

*2012-09-28, version 1.0*

Blazingly fast, huge pattern library. Interface and icon could be prettier but who cares, this is The One.

### 5/5 — The best implementation of Game of Life on iPad

*2012-09-22, version 1.0*

It has everything you need:

– zooming in and out
– drawing
– fitting
– pattern saving and loading

And much, much more!

### 5/5 — HOLY WHAT

*2012-09-20, version 1.0*

THEY ACTUALLY MADE THIS INTO AN APP FOR THE iPAD 😄😄😊😃😊😊😃😃😊😃😃😄😊❤❤❤❤👍❤💙👍👍💚

Sorry, got a bit carried away.

## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated)

### 3/5 — its ok but tiamat is better

*2024-08-22, version 1.3*

i like how theres different engines & how u can run it super fast but pookies ima be honest im not using it bc it doesnt support continuous automata (like Lenia for example) and it also doesnt support multi layer automata like Widelife which is my ruleset and the whole reason i got this... i get that continuous automata is rlly hard to run but like multi layer is not so it would be nice to have that yk... til then ill use tiamat for most stuff but i like how the universe is gigantic yet u can do millions of cycles per second

### 4/5 — Really cool

*2012-09-08, version 1.0*

Awesome app!

### 5/5 — A masterpiece

*2025-05-30, version 1.5*

Einfach nur geil…

### 5/5 — BRING BACK DARK MODE

*2024-09-20, version 1.5*

My eyes 😭

### 5/5 — +++++

*2021-01-15, version 1.3*

Very good app or game :)

### 5/5 — Best Game of Life for iPad

*2020-04-16, version 1.2*

I looked at every Conway’s Game of Life app, and this is by far the best. Not only does it allow a huge field that’s very easy to zoom in to draw, but you can switch between Draw and Move modes so you don’t accidentally draw while you’re trying to zoom in or out.  Of course it comes with all the other features you’d expect but a lot of GOL don’t have.

A pretty large library of patterns comes with it, and as a bonus there’s documentation on each pattern.

And best of all, you can even change the ruleset to explore other interesting universes.

### 5/5 — Danke!

*2020-03-05, version 1.2*

Tolle App um Game of Life zu spielen.
Funktioniert problemlos.

### 5/5 — this is e🅱️ic

*2019-05-23, version 1.2*

lit 👌💯🗿

### 5/5 — iPhone support?

*2018-01-30, version 1.2*

This would be complete if made Universal.

### 5/5 — I know it’s a lot of work.

*2017-10-11, version 1.2*

pls add support for weighted life

## Most praised reviews (2 highest-rated)

### 5/5 — The one to get

*2017-03-10, version 1.1*

If you are wondering which version of Conway's Game of Life to download look no further. This is the definitive cellular automaton app. Faster than the competition (hence the name), with multiple rules available, as well as access to the main online libraries and the ability to save.

### 5/5 — Best Cellular Automata Program

*2016-11-08*

I've been using Golly on my desktop since 2008.  It is, without competition, the best program for discovering and simulating 2D cellular automat.  The intuitive yet powerful Rule Table format for defining rules, combined with scripting, make it excellent for finding interesting rules, and the Python scripting combined with Hashlife make discovering and engineering patterns easier than in any other program I have used.

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*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 2026-06-11.*