If you own the Snowfall DLC, you will get access to new 5 winter maps with negative temperatures and challenging conditions. These can be a big challenge for players as you have to focus on heating. Let’s take a look at the main winter maps that are added to Cities Skylines with this DLC.
Heating as the main aspect to watch
Before I start with descriptions and screenshots of all the maps I must mention that if you decide to play with these maps you need to focus on heating. You have to build heating stations and heating pipes (which also supply water). If your people don’t have heating from the pipes then they will consume more electricity.
Frosty Rivers
The first map you see in your list is Frosty Rivers. This map is well balanced and so you can find all resources and connections types you need to build a well-functioning city. If you are a beginner and want to try everything Cities Skylines has to offer, this map is definitely for you.
| What | Status |
|---|---|
| Area for building | 56 % |
| Oil / Ore / Trees resources | 30% / 30% / 30% |
| Farming / Fish | 30% / 50% |
| Train / Boats / Air connections | yes / yes / yes |
If you look at your first tile, you can see a lot of space to build and work with, you also have farming sites so you should invest in that sector. Don’t forget that water is especially important for your services.
In the last picture you should see which types of resources are available on Frosty Rivers. You can also see some small ore sources, however, you have to buy better tiles or you have to use the all-tiles mod.
Frozenshire
The second map is Frozenshire. This map also has access to all resources, all types of public transport and its biggest challenge is that it is quite scenic. The good thing about this map is that it challenges you to build your town more on the seashore or in the mountains.
| What | Status |
|---|---|
| Area for building | 51 % |
| Oil / Ore / Trees resources | 40% / 50% / 50% |
| Farming / Fish | 25% / 25% |
| Train / Boats / Air connections | yes / yes / yes |
The first tile is truly spacious and thanks to that you will be able to build strong basements for your city. With this map, you should focus on forestry and farming industry as your specialty (right from the start)…
… ad there is plenty of ore in the mountains as well! This map is great for an industrial town that is focused on ore mining and exporting it. As I show in the image below, you should see that you can expand more near the river or towards the sea.
Icy Islands
The next map is Icy Islands, the one I don’t understand that much (the combination of islands and show seems a little bit odd). Either way, there are a lot of bridges to be build.
| What | Status |
|---|---|
| Area for building | 59 % |
| Oil / Ore / Trees resources | 40% / 40% / 40% |
| Farming / Fish | 40% / 55% |
| Train / Boats / Air connections | yes / yes / yes |
To be honest, I don’t like this first tile very much. A big river that crosses the map, so you have to build another highway exit… that’s a lot of work. This can be complicated especially in the early stages of the game because you don’t have highways as routes and there isn’t much money for a well thought construction.
… nevertheless, you can build a bridge between rivers and you don’t have to start with two exits. It is true, that the resources on this map look promising. You have a lot of oil and tree industry. If you need ores, then you need to change your expansion strategy.
Snowy Coast
The Snowy Coast has the largest building area of all the winter maps. It has connections and also a lot of resources. These are not that valuable however. Nevertheless, this map is a good choice for beginners in winter mode…
| What | Status |
|---|---|
| Area for building | 68 % |
| Oil / Ore / Trees resources | 25% / 30% / 40% |
| Farming / Fish | 30% / 50% |
| Train / Boats / Air connections | yes / yes / yes |
… there is a lot of space to work with. When you need to expand, you can get tiles on the other side of the highway where there are “plains” for lots of buildings.
As indicated in the table above, there should be plenty of resources on the map. There are a lot of trees and fertile soil. On the other side, there is not much oil or ore. However, I think the location with lot of space will do.
Winter Hills
As the name suggests, this map is on a hill in winter. And from my point of view, this map will be the hardest of the winter maps. So if you are an advanced Cities Skylines player, you should give this map a try..
| What | Status |
|---|---|
| Area for building | 68 % |
| Oil / Ore / Trees resources | 25% / 25% / 25% |
| Farming / Fish | 10% / 30% |
| Train / Boats / Air connections | yes / yes / yes |
… the first tile gives you a pretty good place to work with. Access to the lake and river will open up after exploring a few more tiles. So plan carefully to avoid problems.
There are not many resources on this map and there is no water flowing, so this map will be the most challenging of the winter maps because you have to open more tiles to run the sewers.
In case you want to read about other DLCs, try our articles about Natural disasters (DLC) and Plazas and Promenades (DLC)!
