I never got the sense he was playing mind games. It was always coy and knowing discussions between them, probably with an air of 'plausible deniability' thrown in.
More accurate, but it's still a kind of "Nah, I'm just taking a gander at the inventory" where Bruce doesn't think he'll quite get it. Then he does and Bruce is like, "Oh, what now?"
Then again, the fourth time I watched it was a few years ago. I have made attempts to watch it a complete fifth time, but I always lose interest around when Bruce is returning home. Not taking a jab at the movie, just I haven't been able to watch it as much as The Dark Knight. Even when you know what's going to happen, like Batman won't run over Joker, or such-and-such dies, it's still a thrill to watch.