The Settlers 3 is a real-time strategy with economic elements, where the user needs to create armies and capture enemy territories. There are no roads in this part, and the player is asked to play for one of 3 nationalities – the Egyptians, Asians and Romans, which must be led to world domination. More than a hundred missions are offered here, and in comparison with its predecessor, the game has received more modern graphics, drawing, and voice acting.

First, the user is asked to choose the side for which to speak, turning into the leader of one of the races. There are Egyptians, Chinese and Romans here. The player's task is to develop his people by creating buildings, forming an efficient economy, producing soldiers and capturing enemy lands. The basis of the gameplay, in addition to capture, is also the construction of buildings, which is only available on your own territory. Watchtowers here are installed near the border, which makes it possible to gain territory more efficiently. To build, you need wood, stone and building units. In the process, the gamer completes missions, which are divided into agricultural, general, military and industrial-extractive, which includes the extraction of resources, for example, coal, iron, which is important for the creation of structures and the production of armies. Agricultural buildings are necessary for the production of food and drinks that are sacrificed to the gods. The military includes shipyards, barracks, towers, workshops, houses where porters are created, as well as markets and temples.

The user controls combat units directly and can give indirect tasks, for example, the user controls siege weapons, geologists, priests, pioneers, spies, warriors and ships, and indirectly controls porters and builders. The army includes a spearman, an archer, and a swordsman. Depending on the chosen race, there are special weapons – the Egyptians have a ballista, the Chinese have a cannon, and the Romans have a catapult. Units are pumped using mana, which is obtained only in the case of sacrifice. There are spells here that priests cast, which cost mana. Among the spells there are peaceful ones – for the transformation of minerals, terraformation, as well as combat ones for increasing defense and attack parameters.