# Langton's Ant Family Cellular Automata

> Virtual ant cellular automata simulator with musical sonification. (iPhone/iPad app by Jeff Holtzkener.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/langtons-ant-family-cellular-automata/id1142104651 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Jeff Holtzkener](https://appshunter.io/developer/1087693055)
- Category: Education, Music
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.90/5 from 16 App Store ratings · 7 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 9.0 · 35 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2016-09-06
- Data updated: 2026-08-29
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/langtons-ant-family-cellular-automata/id1142104651/reviews.md

## What is Langton's Ant Family Cellular Automata?

A *massive* playground for exploring variations on virtual ant cellular automata.  Not only watch and save your creation, but also  *listen* to musical sonifications of the ant's behaviour.
- use square and hexagonal grids (also allows ants which travel to all 8 directions in its Moore neighbourhood)

- precisely place as many ants on grid as you like

- map ant direction to MIDI voices or drum samples to hear the interaction of chaos, reflection, symmetry, periodicity as music.

## Key features

- Square and hexagonal grids
- Ants with 8-direction movement
- Unlimited ant placement
- Musical sonification of ant behavior
- Map ant direction to MIDI/samples

## Recent user reviews (7 of 7)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/langtons-ant-family-cellular-automata/id1142104651/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Great, especially with sound/Music

*2021-12-13*

Good job

### 4/5 — Loads of fun, one small bug

*2021-09-02, version 1.1*

Brilliant app, have wasted loads of time staring at cellular ants doing things on my screen, just what I wanted. One small issue, though: when I try to remove an ant, the app crashes.

### 4/5 — Cool

*2019-10-31, version 1.1*

It looks cool the sound picking thing is quite good too. The main problem is that you can’t make it run that fast (max speed is about 50fps). The music choices don’t seem to make sense (the choises have names instead of something like C# or guitar there’s things like Clare(not an actual name in app but you get the point).

### 5/5 — Excellent

*2019-03-21*

Excellent work. Well coded. Great tools. Congrats to Jeff.

### 5/5 — Epic

*2018-07-23*

Deserves more ratings and more popularity... unfortuately there are not many people who understand Cellular Automata, but what you have done with this app is a great gift to all CA nerds 😁 Thanks alot! Well designed, no ads 👌

### 5/5 — GREAT game but I have a few critiques

*2018-02-17*

As said great game but I have some critiques. In the game the fastest speed is 0.02 which is rather slow for a Langton’s ant so you have to wait a while for stuff to happen, so can you make it so you can increase the speed more, at least to twice the current maximum speed or more.and the grid is always rectangular, I know this is because the iPad or iPhone is rectangular but can you put in a square more where it closes it the longer ends to make it square, that way things like benders always come out the opposite side they came rather than loop around the whole grid for five minutes before finally looping back to start, and so certain symmetrical builds stay symmetrical . You can’t delete any setting that are saved and my load settings paid is getting too big. There’s a small glitch where sometimes when you try to delete ant it crashes, but only sometimes oddly enough.
These aren’t really critiques suggestions On how to make the game even more complex and cool. There’s these things called turmites that are like langton ants except the ants have states as well as the cells, making them 2d Turing machines, allowing incredibly complex patterns that a Langton ant could never make, look them up to get a much better description. Maybe the ability to turn cells to different color states so you can draw starter patterns for the ant to be unleashed in. Oh and maybe the ability to put ants that obey different rules than eachother on the same grid at the same time. The last critique I have is that the number of cells is always an even number so you can’t put ants in the exact center for making certain symmetry’s and benders. Other than that awesome and addictive game and keep up the good work on whatever future projects you have

### 5/5 — Exelent app

*2017-04-14*

Excellent simulation of Langton's ant. Does what is says, has langton's ant, but it also lets you edit the rule set to create your own ant, with four-way ant, 6-way or even 8 way. It vein let's you Change the speed, have music which fits the game, and choose from a preset of other ants. And it does all of this while looking very pretty. 5/5

## Frequently asked questions about Langton's Ant Family Cellular Automata

### What is Langton's Ant Family Cellular Automata?

Langton's Ant Family Cellular Automata is an educational app that allows users to explore variations of virtual ant cellular automata. It features musical sonifications of ant behavior mapped to MIDI voices or drum samples.

### What grid types does Langton's Ant Family Cellular Automata support?

The app supports both square and hexagonal grids, offering flexibility for different simulation patterns and ant behaviors.

### Can I place multiple ants on the grid?

Yes, you can precisely place as many ants on the grid as you like, allowing for complex interactions and emergent behaviors.

### How does Langton's Ant Family Cellular Automata create music?

It maps ant direction to MIDI voices or drum samples, allowing you to hear the interaction of chaos, reflection, symmetry, and periodicity as music.

### Is Langton's Ant Family Cellular Automata free to use?

Yes, the app is completely free and does not have any in-app purchases or advertisements.

### What devices is Langton's Ant Family Cellular Automata available on?

The app is supported on iPhone, iPad, and iPod devices.

### What is the age rating for Langton's Ant Family Cellular Automata?

The app has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of users interested in educational simulations.

### How often is Langton's Ant Family Cellular Automata updated?

The app was last updated on September 6, 2016, with version 1.1. It was initially released on September 6, 2016.

## Version history (last 2 releases)

### 1.1 — 2016-09-06

This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon.

added stability, small bugfixes

### 1.0 — 2016-08-11

No release notes.

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## More apps by Jeff Holtzkener

- [MelodyTrainer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/melodytrainer/id1087693056)
- [Classroom Fluency Timer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/classroom-fluency-timer/id1104853948)
- [Generative Tree Fractal Explorer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/generative-tree-fractal-explorer/id1111819857)
- [Concentric Rhythm](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/concentric-rhythm/id1188907944)

All apps by Jeff Holtzkener: https://appshunter.io/developer/1087693055

## Related topics

[cellular automata](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/cellular-automata) · [automata](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/automata)

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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 2026-08-29.*