Yeah, Tom Riddle employs a Supervillain nonsensical plot of doom. There were easier ways to get him to the graveyard. Only fanwank I can think of, he wanted to toy with Harry.
It does work on one level though.
Harry is in a tournament, while dangerous, is still just a competition. Harry as a person is outgrowing this kind of thing, he needs to go on the path to putting an end to Riddle. So, no time for games, I got a war to fight. Heck, even Ron and Harry play chess in the first book, eventually, they find themselves facing a more dangerous version in the climax of the book. Then there's the Quidditch games, and multiple times Harry is put into life threatening situations when all he wants to do is play a sport, but he has the weight of the wizarding world on his shoulders.
Games becoming war, outgrowing games, having to confront evil.