While many games have “snow� environments, they are only artists’ representations. There is a requirement for game-based simulations to provide a realistic, real-time virtual snow environment for militaries that operate in snow. Among the many considerations for simulated snow are changing snow depth over time; depth of snow based on slope angle and direction relative to sun and wind; and varying snow depths on and around buildings, under trees, and on roads (which may be plowed). Because of these considerations, the snow layer is not uniform; it will require a tremendous amount of data, especially for large maps. Therefore, we decided to generate the snow procedurally, using optimized rendering. A simulation is not static; we have to consider the interactions: vehicles must have particle effects from driving through snow, they must leave tracks, they may sink into the snow, and they may plow through the snow. We need to calculate the force acting on each wheel for PhysX vehicles with a defined “floating zone� from the top of the snow layer which will depend on snow density. Of course, this also affects the snow height where the vehicle has driven, so we must update the height of the snow each time we simulate an object. The equation will take into account the mass of the object and the snow density. Similarly, soldiers are affected by the snow simulation; we must consider the increased difficulty of foot movement as well as the tracks left behind. This paper will discuss the tradeoff decisions, engineering solutions to creating snow layers, and lessons learned in developing snow layers for simulation. It will be of great interest to attendees who are considering implementing snow in their simulations, as it is important to understand the complexity of such a task.