Video Life is one of the rarest video games ever made for the Atari 2600

Atari 2600

The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...

. It is a version of the zero-player cellular automaton known as Conway's Game of Life

Conway's Game of Life

The Game of Life, also known simply as Life, is a cellular automaton devised by the British mathematician John Horton Conway in 1970....

. Video Life was only available via a special mail order

Mail order

Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...

 offer to owners of Commavid's Magicard, which itself is considered to be one of the rarest Atari 2600 cartridges ever released. According to original CommaVid co-owner Irwin Gaines, only "20 cartridges or less" of Video Life were ever made.