What to watch
- The engine moves diagonally.
- It leaves stable 2 x 2 blocks in its wake.
- A larger or unbounded board is needed for a satisfying long demonstration.
Growth patterns
Block-laying switch engine
A diagonal puffer that repeatedly lays blocks behind it.
The block-laying switch engine is one of the clearest examples of a small engine producing a visible trail. It belongs in the regular catalogue as a preview and in the advanced module for longer runs.
Block-laying switch engine is a puffer
The block-laying switch engine is a diagonal c/12 puffer. It moves while leaving stable blocks behind, so it is best studied on a roomy or infinite board after the small preview here.
Growth patterns43 cells29 x 28 boxperiod 288
- Category
- Growth patterns
- Period
- 288
- Movement
- c/12 diagonal
- Population
- 43 cells
- Bounding box
- 29 x 28
- Known since
- 1971
How to use it
Use it to introduce puffers and then hand users to the infinite board for longer viewing.
Open the pattern in the lab, reduce the speed, and use single-step mode when a phase change is hard to see. The green preview marks births in the next generation; red outlines mark live cells that will die.