This study of genetics, population ecology, evolution and animal behaviour explains why scientific observations and insights can be structured as the rules of a survival game, and what happens when they are assembled on a computer or in the mind and allowed to run.

Introduction: Mendel's legacy ; 1. Self-replicating automata and artificial life ; 2. Population ecology and chaos ; 3. Random drift and chain reactions ; 4. Population genetics ; 5. Evolution and sex ; 6. Evolutionary game theory ; 7. Reciprocity and the evolution of cooperation ; 8. Playback ; Endnotes ; Bibliography ; Index

'Karl Sigmund's Games of Life is a beautifully written and, considering its relative brevity, amazingly comprehensive survey of past and current thinking in "mathematical" evolution. Just as games (at least, the human variety) are supposed to be fun, so too is Games of Life - the witty section headings, the relaxed style and the clarity of the explanations make the book as enjoyable to read as a Marx Brothers film (to which there is a reference in the book) is to watch.' Times Higher Education Supplement 'I would place Sigmund's book somehwere between good and excellent ... The informal style of the book is brilliant ... the book is a success.' A. Kondrashov, Cornell University, TREE, vol. 9, no. 3, 1994 'an excellent introduction to what theoretical bioliogists get up to in trying to understand evolutionary and ecological ideas' Andrew Pomiankowski, University College, London, Nature, Vol. 370, 1994