No, you are not the only one, and that's why freemium is starting to show real problems in terms of monetization.
The goal of freemium games is to A) keep people playing your game only and B) get them to buy IAP. Problem A is solved by giving them copious amounts of free in-game items/currency...which makes solving Problem B harder as players have less reason to buy. Oops!
Developers have split the difference by offering the players exploding one-time bundles, but usually those bundles are still disproportionately priced.
I'm happy that more people are experiencing games, but I'm disappointed that the most visible games in app stores are those that nickle and dime you to death.
There are still games that offer you better value and don't participate in IAP shenanigans, but I'm worried that the number of developers that find success in this business model is very small.
I actually quite like Boom Beach, and to a lesser extent, Clash. Without having spent a dollar, I've easily spent more time and gotten more enjoyment out of them than Fallout 4, Just Cause 3, and Dragon Age Inquisition, the 3 AAA titles I've bought in the past year. Sure you can pay to get ahead, but the games stand alone well enough for midlevel players without doing so.
Might I recommend Witcher 3 (amazing!) and Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain, both of which I enjoyed (slightly) more than FO4 (sadly) and DA:I. They are both also more "mature" games (and TPP is set in 1980's Afghanistan and allows you to collect just-off-chart hits from the 80's to play on your in-game Walkman, which I found rather cool). (I haven't tried JC3 yet, I got halfway through JC2 and then kinda dropped it.)
I'm waiting on a Steam sale for The Witcher 3, although I was never really able to get into the first one. I'll look into TPP. JC3 I only bought recently, but it feels as fun as the second one. You've really just got to treat it like a pretty sandbox where you can smash vehicles and explosives together.
I think the reason I've not put as much time into games the past year is that it's just hard to find a ~3 hour chunk to play through a questline. Versus Boom Beach where I can pop on, smack talk my group of friends, attack the daily boss a couple of times, and be done in 15 minutes.
I like games, dislike CoC, but have seen a CoC-style game that does it right.
It's a 2D sidescrolling platform game, with one-button controls; this keeps skill involved. Traps consist of a three-trap set; you can upgrade them for damage (and buy a dev-made "optimal" setup), but you can't grind for 50000 level 1 walls (or level 99 walls, for that matter). Scoring is separate from currency; the gemswhich contribute to your score can be sold for game currency, but never bought. There's a Farmville-style gem mine tmechanic, but unless your traps are perfect, you'll get more from stealing other players' gems.
TL;DR: Clash of Clans is much better when grinding is nerfed.
The goal of freemium games is to A) keep people playing your game only and B) get them to buy IAP. Problem A is solved by giving them copious amounts of free in-game items/currency...which makes solving Problem B harder as players have less reason to buy. Oops!
Developers have split the difference by offering the players exploding one-time bundles, but usually those bundles are still disproportionately priced.