Can anyone explain the gameplay of this to me? Is it turn based or real time?

Real time, though you can alter speed and pause it whenever you like.

Also if your thinking of gettign it, make sure you get the Napoleans Ambition expansion, and i'd advice waiting untill the Inn Nominee expansion is released as well, they are improving the game vastly from the looks of it so far!

I sort of get the impression its Heart of Iron set in olden days, am I right?

I wanted to like this game so bad, but there just wasn't enough to really do while playing it.

I sort of get the impression its Heart of Iron set in olden days, am I right?
Yeah time runs like HOI2 does (i haven't played the first one but I presume it's the same).
You go through days at a time though, rather than hours.

It's a good setting, at a time when countries were formign and colonial empires being founded. I'm waiting for Inn Nominee to be released before playing it again, there adding stuff like missions so that countires have things to aspire to (and thsu act a bit more historially) and overhaulign the rebel system so that rebels now have factions and have a goal they try and acheive.

EUIII is quite a fun game. You can start your game at any day between May 30, 1453 and July 29, 1789. It is strategically challenging and ultimately a fun ride. Your settings for speed can be set to your preference, I like it on highest speed, except for during wars. The only drawback is that there is very little realism once you start the game, as in there are very little historical events. The In Nominee thing which will be out eventually is supposted to really make the game better. If you want more info on EUIII or In Nominee, go to the forums at www.paradoxplaza.com. Watch out, they're busy quite often because of the new game Rome:Total war, so it might say that the server is too busy for ong periods of time. Good luck, and have fun playing EUIII!