I'm glad you enjoyed playing the game :) I admit that the multiplayer scenario flow isn't perfect yet and it can be confusing to navigate, but I encourage you to try the custom game (the button at the bottom right in the scenario selector) which I believe has most of the features you desire. We will certainly improve these menus and functionality in the future, but if you and your friend are looking to battle the bots or do 1v1's then custom game is what you want to do.