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 goldfish
 ========
 
-A simple Game of Life implementation in Java.
\ No newline at end of file
+**goldfish** (*GoLdfish*) is a simple Game of Life implementation in Java.
+
+Setup
+-----
+
+Clone the project with:
+
+    git clone https://github.com/earwig/goldfish.git goldfish
+
+The simplest way to build and run it is with
+[Apache Ant](http://ant.apache.org/):
+
+    cd goldfish
+    ant run
+
+Alternatively, you can compile it using `javac` and run it with `java`:
+
+    cd goldfish/src
+    javac edu/stuy/goldfish/*.java edu/stuy/goldfish/rules/*.java
+    java edu.stuy.goldfish.Goldfish
+
+Usage
+-----
+
+When you start goldfish, you will be presented with a
+[Gosper glider gun](http://www.conwaylife.com/wiki/Gosper_glider_gun) running
+under the standard
+[Conway's Game of Life](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway's_Game_of_Life)
+rules. The buttons allow you to pause/unpause the simulation, reset it to the
+default glider gun (or whatever the default pattern is for the chosen
+algorithm), randomize the grid, and clear it completely. The slider allows you
+to set the maximum FPS that the simulation will run at.
+
+By clicking on the screen and dragging your mouse, you can set the state of
+patches directly. This works best when paused. "Painting" over living patches
+will set their state as dead. In automata with muliple states, right-clicking
+will paint in a different state than left-clicking.
+
+The *algorithms* menu allows you to switch to different cellular automaton
+rulesets.
+
+### Algorithms
+
+* **Conway**: a standard
+  [Conway's Game of Life](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway's_Game_of_Life)
+  simulator.
+* **Conway4**: equivalent to Conway, but patches use their
+  [von Neumann neighborhood](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Von_Neumann_neighborhood)
+  instead of their
+  [Moore neighborhood](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore_neighborhood).
+* **Life Without Death**: equivalent to Conway, but patches do not die.
+* [**Brian's Brain**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian's_Brain): a
+  three-state automaton with an "alive", "dying", and "off" state. Generally
+  more chaotic than Conway with interesting patterns.