About the Lichen Timer
Lumpy, irregular blobs of "lichen" grow from a handful of seed cells scattered across the canvas. Driven by the Eden growth model — at each step a random boundary cell is added — so the colonies look soft and chunky rather than fractal-spiky. The patches eventually merge and fill the whole screen when time runs out.
How It Works
Four to seven seeds drop in at random positions. Every game step picks a uniformly random cell on the cluster's boundary and adds it. Unlike DLA (which produces lacy fractals), the Eden model packs cells uniformly — you get rounded, lumpy blobs that look organic without being skeletal.
Perfect For
- Focus sessions — soft, slow growth
- Meditation and quiet routines
- Classrooms — visible "growth" makes time concrete
- Biology lessons — illustrates colony growth models
FAQ
How is this different from the Coral timer?
Coral uses diffusion-limited aggregation, which produces spindly fractal shapes. Lichen uses the Eden model, which produces lumpy compact blobs. Same idea, very different visual texture.
Why are there multiple patches?
The simulation seeds four to seven random spots so patches form separately and merge over time — that's how lichen actually colonises a rock.
Is the lichen timer free?
Yes — free, no signup. Runs in any modern browser.
Can I run it in fullscreen?
Yes. Tap the Fullscreen button; press Esc to exit.