You do not have to map out every cell you can cheat at searching by dropping points in the center of most generic areas of interest just make sure there is a path between the points, and then once in the general area you can use a more refined search.

Love the game of life. I really like that script parsing you have there. I made an implementation but not on this site. I mixed the color of cells based on their neighbors so you can see a bit of the child's ancestry, but it gets impossible to tell when they mix to the point of all being bluish-grey. [url=http://www.lordhershey.com/JavaGames/GameOfLife/index.php]Life[/url]

you should start the first koopa back a little bit since when the start button is hit it will hit you before you can take in the entire scene.