Transport

Neighbor food gate

Enable neighbor food gate

Both layers must allow life. Sum the current stored food of the eight living neighbors, excluding self. Dead cells contribute zero. This is food held now, not maximum capacity.

Birth food interval

Birth food lower X3

Birth food upper Y6

3 < neighbor food sum < 6. Equality fails. Admitted reachable sums: 4–5.

Survival food interval

Survival food lower X0

Survival food upper Y39

0 < neighbor food sum < 39. Equality fails. Admitted reachable sums: 1–38.

Bounds stay at least two apart. −1 and 65 admit the entire 0–64 range. Capacity edits retain these absolute thresholds. On: a failed gate blocks birth or kills an otherwise surviving cell. No refill or birth draw is committed for a veto.

All randomizers preserve this switch. Old version-one compositions load with it off. Turn it off and set capacity to zero for the original Conway comparison.

Life & support

Birth neighbor count1

Survival minimum4

Survival maximum6

Birth at exactly 1. Free survival at 4–6. Moving either survival bound keeps the interval ordered. Birth at zero permits spontaneous life.

Stored food

Storage capacity6

Newborn reserve minimum1

Newborn reserve maximum6

Every birth draws 1–6, inclusive. Capacity edits clamp the range and existing food; range edits affect future births. Capacity zero with the food gate off recovers Conway with the default neighbor counts.

Spending & refilling

Shortage cost3

Cost per excess neighbor2

Refill neighbor count2

Refill amount4

Below 4: neighbors + food must reach the minimum, then pay 3. Above 6: pay 2 per excess neighbor. Only affordable survivors at 2 neighbors refill +4, capped at 6.

034GOL

Rations

Life stores food to survive isolation and crowding. A second rule gates birth and survival by the food held in neighboring cells.

Explore the collection Rules & reproducibility

Current composition

01Count eight living neighbors from the same previous generation.
02Empty with 1 neighbors: birth with a random 1–6 food allowance. No extra newborn refill.
03Below 4: neighbors + food must reach 4, and food must cover the flat 3 fee.
04Above 6: pay (neighbors − 6) × 2. Inside the band survival is free.
05Survivors with 2 neighbors gain 4, capped at 6. Pay before refilling. Death clears food.
06Also require neighbor food: birth 3 < sum < 6; survival 0 < sum < 39. Both layers read the same prior field; a veto clears food and commits no refill or newborn draw.

“Priority” is stored food, not a rank or competition. The second layer couples neighbors through stored food without transferring it. Try Ration islands to compare supported colonies and isolated cells.

Pause and enable Inspect cell in View & world for exact next-Step evidence.

Experiment index034 / 100

Game of Life: Rations

Paused · Toroidal

160 × 160 · generation 0

Zero foodLowStoredFull

Explore how stored food and neighboring food totals shape colonies. Color shows reserves.

Paint to change cells, or enable Inspect cell. Arrow keys select; Enter paints; P plays/pauses; S steps.