Bacteria is a single-player puzzle game built around Conway’s cellular automaton, the rule-based system devised by John Horton Conway in 1970. Rather than simply watching patterns unfold, players begin with a square field in a stable state and must work out how a limited set of added cells will change it over several steps.
The central challenge is to place those cells so the field reaches a required outcome: a halt in colored mode, or a cleared board in hard black-and-white mode. Players can add individual points or use familiar Life patterns, including Gliders that move diagonally and Lightweight Spaceships that travel straight. Difficulty can further constrain the available area for placing new cells, making space itself part of the puzzle.
Its appeal lies in translating an abstract simulation into concrete spatial problems, with distinct target states and recognizable patterns to reason through.
