The break-in is all in my head

When I set puzzles, obviously I will use setting software or at the very least, pen and paper. But increasingly, I find that I am setting my breakins entirely in my head.

Not that I’ll have all the details down: many times I will adjust the breakin so it flows more smoothly or because it subtly breaks in some way. Often I don’t even determine important aspects of the puzzle like, “how many rows and columns will it have?” or “where will the breakin be?” Nevertheless, the entire idea of the breakin is in my head.

As an example, take my latest puzzle River. The main idea is that Renbans of length 4 or greater must have at least one of 46. This is about how far I was able to get with the breakin in my head:

I’ve mostly begun doing this out of necessity: there are a lot of situations where I don’t have access to setting software (sleeping, dinner with family friends, graduation, etc) and I get bored easily, so I start thinking of puzzles in my head. But I do think that constructing breakins in your head does ensure they are good: it ensures that there is actually some idea behind the breakin, rather than just being a series of details to whittle down. Because if your “breakin” is just a bunch of uninteresting details, you won’t be able to remember all that in your head.

P.S. If you spot me spaced out, it’s probably because I’m constructing a puzzle in my head.