100% agree, the games themselves providing some fun, and not just being another short-term Ponzi is a vital factor. Splinterlands and Mobile MiniGames for this reason are the only 2 that I really play and have a long-term vision with. The fact that they aside from the game also have good tokenomics which adds a 'money management' gameplay aspect to it is a nice bonus.
I hope you give the game a fair try, it takes some time to wrap your head around it all but once you are there it all makes a lot of sense and unlike Splinterlands doesn't require a crazy amount of time.