Game Flow vs Immersion

[Lochiel]

I've got a quick question about what ya'll believe is more important; Game Flow or Immersion. I'm about to run a couple of sessions that will involve the PC's exploring the dark unknown jungle for a lost temple. In order to create the sense of "exploration" I'll be using a game of Concentration (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentration_(game)) using map fragments as the pieces. Successful DC check's allow them to play a turn of Concentration, beating the hard DC check allows them to keep a piece revealed. Failed DC checks and turns of concentration that don't reveal a match count as failures. Every 2-3 failures is a random encounter.

I think this will be a great way to convey Exploration in a dangerous area. The question I have is this.

Should I have them complete the game of Concentration (in this case, find the temple, and find map fragments that reveal a path to the starting point), and then run all of the random encounters? Or should I interrupt the game of Concentration to run the random encounter?

Bonus question: I was planning on having all of the encounters be level appropriate, but as this may turn into a large number of random encounters, should I lower the level to make them run faster?

[valadil]

I would vote for switching off between the mini game and the combat. I like variety and so switching off between two game elements is more fun for me than playing each element one at a time several times in a row.

[nihil8r]

this is a fun idea ... what other simple mini games could be used to spice up a session?

[Delwugor]

Interesting idea!
I would mix up the random encounters with turns at Concentration. This may help with a better immersible feel for the players. "Go here, no there, nope, oops, wooh monsters, ok where did we leave off?"

[Lochiel]

I made some changes to the flow of the story, so this won't be happening till next session (next week), but I think I'm going to go with encounters happening immediately. Extended rest will be every 4 encounters, and each turn will have an endurance check vs losing a healing surge. Most encounters will be simple and below level so that we can get all of this into a single session.

Another mini-game I had considered was a variant on minesweeper. Free turn if you uncovered a blank (no mine, no mines adjacent) square, major encounter if you uncovered a mine, etc. I think it would feel more like "systematically eliminating possibilities" than Concentration. If I was to suggest a place for it, I'd have it as a game for finding the Big Bad's Lieutenants so the authorities can take care of them. I'd like to hear other suggested mini-games.

[Toofey]

I am going to steal this idea OP, thank you!