In Ukrainian, “Абищо” literally means nonsense or some oddball thing. It’s used to describe something random, weird, or simply hard to define. Which fits this project perfectly.

Here’s how I like to think about my first app: Abyshcho is a game where your brain kind of glitches out trying to explain the words that are rarely in use.

I have friends who love playing Alias-type games. But every time we try one, the apps are in foreign language, cluttered to the point of chaos, and the words? Painfully basic. So I decided: enough of that.

This game was born out of a deepening love for my native language. After years of disconnect, I’ve been re-immersing in Ukrainian — maybe overcompensating a bit. I’ve turned into one of those people who side-eye grammar mistakes and daydream about bringing more nuance and beauty into how we use the language.

So I thought: why not make a fun, slightly educational game built entirely around great Ukrainian words? Something playful and low-pressure, that still sparks curiosity — and leaves space for users to shape it too.

Mind you, I didn’t know SwiftUI. I tried Cursor three times, then dove into Swift like my eyes were on fire. I still don’t have time to code seriously — but thanks to no-code tools and a bit of grit, I not only released the app, but also pushed four updates. The latest one (2.0) is the biggest — and honestly, I’m pretty proud.

Wild, right? Still can’t quite believe I pulled it off.

📈 Clever and quirky words — with explanations

A ridiculous amount of time went into making the gameplay and words themselves as engaging and brain-melting as possible. Neurons willsweat.

🎨 Clean UI, thoughtful UX

Every screen was crafted with care, based on what a game like this should feel like — intuitive, fun, and built to be genuinely enjoyable.

🚥 Offline-friendly and ad-free

This is the kind of game you play near a campfire, out in the countryside, surrounded by friends. So it works offline. And ads? Ew. No ads. Ever. I respect my users too much for that.

The instinctive reaction: “Wait, doesn’t this already exist?”

I personally looked into it. And honestly? Out of all the word games in Ukrainian I could actually recommend — none of them are real Alias-style games.

Most Alias-like apps focus entirely on monetization, full of ads and bloated word lists that feel like they were scraped from a kids' dictionary. (No offense, but… come on.)

Ukrainian has incredible richness — dialects, forgotten gems, repressed words that deserve a second life. I wanted to dig them up. I combed through websites and dictionaries to find the kind of words that would truly fit the Abyshcho vibe.

To make the game more welcoming — especially for friends used to mindless Alias clones — the first step was easing players in. Sharp UI or gameplay shifts only work if they feel smooth and familiar.

That’s why a few recognizable (but still playful) words were mixed in early on — to avoid frustration and help players ease into the game’s tone.

The classic “score 50 to win” mechanic didn’t quite work here. The words were too unfamiliar — most rounds capped at 4 points, turning gameplay into a slow grind.

Now, each game consists of six rounds: enough to feel complete, not exhausting, and craving for more :)

Since many words are new or forgotten by players, at the end of each round you can check what the word actually means 🙂 This feature always makes me smile and really resonates with me personally. Everything’s in one place — no need to Google.

If a team really dislikes a word, they can “dislike” it, and that word will never appear again for them. But this is individual only — dislikes don’t affect the word database for other players.

Of course, you can also “like” words. For me, that’s a great indicator of what my users want more of — and a nice little ego boost ☺️

Bonus: the app works offline and is free for Apple users in Ukraine and Poland 🙂

I = minimalism. Better just enough than too much. The main focus here was clear, intuitive, and concise design that works 95% of the time to please the user. Why 95%? Statistics. Someone will always dislike something — just because 🌚🌚🌚 — and that’s totally okay.

Of course, the tiny but helpful design system was created and it made the work with Lovable super convenient — especially to catch when AI goes a bit off track. (Sometimes I might explained things badly, oh well.)

And of course: haptic touch! Swipes and haptic feedback are the game’s core motor skills 🙂

Honestly? What a wild experience! Will I keep developing it? Absolutely. There’s still so much to do — fix bugs, add new levels, adapt and improve.

Is Lovable lovable? Without a doubt!

Do I plan to make more apps? I’m afraid so 😂🤓

Did I forget to mention something about my app-building journey? 100%. 🫠

Want to learn more? Leave me a message :)

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