WOLFRAM|DEMONSTRATIONS PROJECT

Hex Life: Hexagonal Cellular Automata

size

5

6

7

8

9

10

step

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

initial pattern

pattern1

pattern2

pattern3

pattern4

pattern5

swap

propagate

reset

Hex Life is based on Conway's classic game of life, but instead of having cells with only four neighbors, each cell can have up to 12 neighbors (six first-tier neighbors and six second-tier neighbors). A cell dies, is born, or stays alive or dead depending on the number of its neighbors that are alive. Click on an "initial pattern" button to choose any initial pattern. To view the process, click the various step buttons or the "propagate" button. The "size" buttons control the size of the grid. The "reset" button returns the cells to their original state at step 1. The "swap" checkbox makes the hexagon periodic.