LIGHTCONE: Cosmic Strategy

A cosmological simulation game. Set the constants of nature, ignite a universe and watch it evolve from the Big Bang to its final fate, on real physics: expansion, horizons, stars and black holes. If observers arise, research technologies, send probes to other galaxies and outlast rival civilizations, thinking as many thoughts as physics allows before the lights go out. TUNE A UNIVERSE Change the fine-structure constant, the strength of gravity, the cosmological constant, the matter–antimatter asymmetry, dark matter and more, or start from a preset: our universe, no dark energy, a Big Crunch, a doomed vacuum. A forecast shows what your choices will make, and whether anyone could ever live there. WATCH IT EVOLVE From the Planck epoch through inflation, the first stars and galaxies, to the long dark of black holes and Hawking radiation. Play on a flat map or in 3D space, where the cosmic web fills a volume you can turn in your hands. Watch the observable universe and the event horizon that closes in as space expands, then switch to the view from home and see every other galaxy stream away past it. Whatever drifts past it is lost for good. GUIDE A CIVILIZATION Research a tree of technologies drawn from physics, SETI research and science fiction, from von Neumann probes to wormholes and black hole furnaces. Launch probes to claim galaxies before they slip beyond reach, and decide when to spend energy and when to bank it for a colder, cheaper future. MEET OTHER MINDS Rival civilizations follow strategies and stances from the literature on what advanced civilizations might do: expanders, aestivators and transcenders; peaceful, merging, conquering or fleeing. Message them, trade knowledge, merge, stop a conqueror, or take over and play as any civilization you know of. LEARN AS YOU PLAY Every idea in the game comes with further reading: the books, original papers and science fiction behind it, collected in the Library. Who it's for: • Space and physics fans who want to see how the universe really works • Strategy players who like planning for the very long game • Students and the curious, with further reading for every idea Plays offline. No accounts, no ads, no tracking. Made by Happy Heart Software.