AI Software Glut: How Coding Tools Are Flooding the Puzzle Market

Summary

Jim Bumgardner, who has published puzzles on KrazyDad for more than 20 years, says AI coding tools have substantially changed how he maintains the site and creates puzzle software. His puzzles are generated by programs he writes rather than directly by large language models, but he increasingly uses coding models and harnesses such as Claude Code to help build those programs. He says careful, expert-directed AI assistance has enabled interface improvements, solving instructions, puzzle revisions, new varieties, and better mazes, producing more site improvements in several months than in the previous five years. Bumgardner also expects to answer “No” to Amazon KDP’s AI disclosure question for an upcoming book because the puzzles are not directly generated by generative AI, while acknowledging that his workflow makes the question difficult to answer cleanly. Based on correspondence, Reddit discussions, and Amazon listings, he estimates that puzzle websites, apps, and books have increased roughly tenfold since January 2026, with “vibe-coded” products contributing to the surge. He also reports a roughly tenfold rise in non-human traffic to his site, including exploit attempts and scrapers; bots now account for about 90% of traffic on typical days, while carefully filtered human traffic remains around 7,000 to 9,000 unique visitors daily. The article presents this as a supply glut: AI makes software and content easier to produce without creating equivalent demand. Bumgardner argues that the resulting pressure could reduce the value of software, weaken software-as-a-service economics, and concentrate leverage among large organizations and established brands. These broader economic and political conclusions are his views, not findings from a formal market study.