Bug: If you lose a game and then restart right away you leadership research stays with you on the battlefield, even if it doesn't show in the research panel (I guess that's why I finished so quickly that time)
Finished hard level in 7.75 years.
This was a little lucky, but I hardly ever had a full army. If you can try to win by morale, you will save a lot of money on not having to replace your army.
I fought mostly with Pikemen, Hypaspist and cavalry (scout first 1/3 and scout/lancer the rest). Only towards the end (to face Bactrian cavalry) did I get the silver shield guard. I focused on defense until I had enough to send a cavalry wave.
I did the 7.75 once, previous try it took me 10.25.
Fun game, but I think that Persia should be better defended.
What I did for runners:
One time I built two tanks, one to sacrifice and the other with flamethrower. Make sure you hold the first tank, so your tanks go together.
Later I did with one to sacrifice and put a simple tank with cannons behind it. I got lucky and survived, so I put a fast cannon behind it.
Speed seemed to help, but I wouldn't always afford it.
The couple times I beat runners, I went fast for the first fountain to build my second tank quickly, but I did not care to capture the factory until I killed the first runner.
Awesome fast game!
Yes, there is not a lot of control, but I personally think that some games, like chess, are ok with some limitations. It is nice for variety. (I know, the comparison to chess is not the best choice, but you get the idea).
I wonder if there's something you could do so that tanks don't flip. But even without that, I really liked it.