I finally got around to playing the Peloponnesian wars but I'm finding that playing with Macedonian phalanxes has spoiled me. Athenian hoplites are weaker and have fewer numbers than Spartans and Thebans and I'm outnumbered in terms of the the number of units I can bring to bear as well. I've had some limited success, but whenever I try for a city on the mainland I'm eventually swarmed with enemy reinforcements that I can't beat in a fair fight.

I'm trying for flanking bonuses and peltast support whenever I can but it's still really hard, even if my opponents aren't doing much offensive action. Right now I'd like to punish the Megarid so I can see about achieving a truce with the Odrysians and stop them burning my farms (I hate thracian peltasts so much) but I can't move on Megara without attracting superior forces and I can't keep up a sustained offensive because my reinforcment pool runs out.

Never played the other campaigns too much. I find them too overwhelming and I like to structure my empire my own way as it grows. But I'll go have a shot now and see what I can do. How far into the campaign are you in regards to time and land taken?

Personally I took the Megra just for the quest, and then smashed Thebes. With all the troops from Eubola, Achea, and the islands you should have enough man power to over run the Megra and fight a defensive war there while overruning Thebes territory.

Next I made peace with the Odyssians and then did all of the quests to get the allience with Macedon. After reducing the troop count in Macedon too a small team of peltasts and cavalry, it was off to the high seas. A couple of fights with the Spartans later, and the scenario wasm ostly over.

I just started playing it myself. First thing you should do is pause the game and start making workers in every town that is near a mine. stock those mines and you nearly double your income. Then head for that city... accross from the isle of Thasos, near Amphipolis, I think? The one with all the gold mines. You'll need to bring sheep and use Thasos' man power to get the edge you need but you already have 4 well situated cities to sack it so it should go easy since if you hit it before they get their walls up. That extra bit (5 goldmines I think) will give you another good boost. Make sure you station at least a spearman in all your island cities with a gold mine to deter Persian/Spartan/Cretan raids. Then I sack that island south of Athens and take the migrants in all while moving the sheep from city to city in Eubeoa.