Product case study iOS apps 2026
Secret Subject
Two players. Two identities. One conversation.
A Romanian guessing game for two nearby players, each on their own iPhone or iPad. Give clues for the identity on your screen, listen to discover your own, and choose your answer from the options on screen.
Visit the app websiteBranding
Warm orange. Clear words. A recognisable pair.
The visual identity connects the paired cards in the app icon with the central idea of two people discovering two identities. Orange actions, cream identity surfaces and rounded system typography carry through the native interface and App Store artwork. The presentation moves from a simple invitation to the actual steps of play.
App Store artwork colors
- Burnt orange
- #C2410C
- Cream
- #FFF0E5
A visible clue
The other player’s name sits above the large identity, making its owner explicit.
One clear action
Creating a game, opening the choices and starting another round each have a prominent control.
An explained result
Results combine names, answers, points and written outcomes with colour.
App views
A closer look.
Explore key moments in the game. These App Store images show the Romanian app interface.
Images 1 / 3
The brief
A small game built around the person in front of you.
Secret Subject gives two people a shared guessing game without turning their conversation into a chat interface. Each device holds a different piece of information: you can see who the other player must guess, while they can see your identity. The clues happen aloud, face to face.
We built the experience around that exchange. The app chooses identities, keeps each answer hidden from its owner, presents the choices and settles the score. Players supply the descriptions and deduction. Animals, food, places, professions, sport and fictional characters offer different starting points for the conversation.
- Players
- For two
- Content
- Themed identity catalogue
- Platforms
- iPhone and iPad
- Language
- Romanian
How it works
How a round works.
Play face to face with two compatible devices. Both people give clues and both try to guess.
Create the game and connect
One player chooses “Creează un joc” and enters a name to reach the lobby with Toate categoriile (All categories) selected. The Host can keep the accessible bundled mix or open the category card: Categoriile mele (My categories) appears first, then All categories, and each bundled category offers Toate temele (All themes). Saved lists are selected separately. Both devices use the same Wi-Fi and allow Local Network access. The other chooses “Intră în joc”, enters a name and selects the host from the nearby-game list. Compare the entire code displayed on both screens: the joining player confirms the match and the host accepts the request. This code is read for comparison, not typed or pasted. Cancel if it differs. Only after both approvals does the host start the round and play alongside the guest.
Describe what the other person must guess
Your screen shows the other player’s assigned identity. Give clues without saying the answer. Listen to their clues to work out your own identity, which remains hidden from you. Conversation has no visible countdown; the app does not generate or record your clues.
Open the choices and commit
Either player can tap “Arată variantele”, opening both answer lists together. Each person receives their own answer list, with the correct identity among alternatives from the same theme. Choose and confirm carefully. A submitted answer cannot be changed.
Find out who scored
A wrong answer loses the round immediately and the opponent scores. The first correct answer wins unless both correct answers reach the host almost together: then the round ends in a draw and both players score. The app settles the result and updates the running score; the conversation itself has no countdown.
Keep the conversation going
Results reveal both identities, the submitted choices and running score. Both players tap “Runda următoare” to continue. The host can change the theme between rounds while keeping the score; both confirm readiness again. Starting a new game resets score and identity history.
In detail
Enough variety to change the conversation.
Your friends become the theme
With Temele mele, name a theme such as Prieteni or Vacanța noastră, enter 5–50 distinct names and save. Select it for your game. The same two-player rules apply, with up to ten choices; the visible opponent identity stays out of your choices.
Themes for different interests
The curated Romanian catalogue keeps 800 identities in 26 themes across 11 categories. Animale domestice, Capitale and Personaje din povești include familiar answers such as Pisică, București and Cenușăreasa. The selection favours clear names and useful clues. The theme information sheet shows its description and complete answer list before selection.
Alternatives that belong together
Bundled themes draw alternatives from curated groups; custom themes use the creator’s distinct list. The names appear in Romanian alphabetical order. The correct answer is never marked before results.
Variety across a live session
The game draws from unused identities while the selected theme has enough left for another round. Switching themes preserves each theme’s session history, so returning to a favourite does not immediately start its list again.
The challenge
Keep the conversation simple while the information stays different.
The central constraint reaches beyond hiding a label. Each person must see the other player’s identity while their own stays secret, and the host has to play under those same rules even though its device coordinates the session. Revealing choices and settling the outcome also need to agree across both screens.
The interface therefore needs to explain who an identity belongs to, when an answer becomes final and how to continue together. A catalogue spanning animals, places, people and objects adds another requirement: the alternatives offered in each round must remain within the selected theme.
We developed Secret Subject as a native Romanian guessing game built around two people and two devices. The work connects a paired-card identity, a focused SwiftUI interface and precise multiplayer rules: each person sees a different secret, both participate, and one shared result keeps the conversation moving.
Give each player only their own view
We separated the complete rules state from the information presented to each player, including the host. The interface names the opponent above the identity card, so the visual explanation follows the same ownership rule as the data.
Build each choice list from a defined catalogue
The engine places the correct identity among alternatives from curated groups within a theme. Catalogue validation checks membership and uniqueness; the interface orders the choices consistently. Theme previews let players inspect the available content before starting.
Make a close finish an explicit rule
We defined how the game handles correct answers that arrive almost together. The host applies the same timing rule to both players, and boundary tests check when a close finish becomes a draw. Both screens receive the same outcome.
The build
Simple to follow. Precise about the rules.
The native SwiftUI interface sits above a separate rules engine. Although the host coordinates the game, its screen receives the same restricted view of information as the guest: the opponent’s identity and, after reveal, its own unmarked choices. That separation keeps presentation aligned with the guessing rules.
Answer timing uses the host’s monotonic clock. Tests cover answers around the draw threshold, alongside wrong answers, repeated commands and rematches. The catalogue is validated for unique names, valid theme membership and complete candidate sets. Its 34 candidate groups keep bundled alternatives within the selected theme. Native text scaling, semantic colours and Reduce Motion preferences also shape the interface.
The result
One complete loop, from choosing a theme to playing again.
The implemented app brings together nearby-game selection and approval, private identity views, shared choice reveal, confirmed answers, scoring and rematches across a varied catalogue of Romanian themes. Its paired-card icon and orange-and-cream artwork introduce the same interaction that the native screens explain. The project combines product identity, interface design, catalogue structure and tested game logic in one coherent experience.
Good to know
What you need to play.
Subscription access at a glance
The prepared beta puts the game first, with information at the top left and question-mark help at the top right. Rounded capsule buttons keep play and membership actions compact, and the guide explains each step with numbered cream-card illustrations. The optional Plus welcome has a top-right X and Continue free. Both lead Home; active subscribers start there, and returning from the background leaves the offer closed. Membership uses its top X without a duplicate Close button. The larger top-right Plus badge appears on Home and the iOS icon while access is active, preserving the original mark’s size and position; inactive access restores the original. Live character counters are removed; input limits remain. In Temele mele, a count badge sits above the name field. Add with + or Enter and remove with minus. Save theme activates only with a valid title, 5–50 distinct names and no pending text. Subscriptions remain separate for each app. The gallery shows current Debug Simulator captures of Secret Subject. Public App Store availability is separate.
Saved themes, managed by their creator
You can save up to 10 themes, with titles up to 30 characters and names up to 15. Add each name with + or Enter, remove unwanted entries, then use the separate Save theme action after adding or clearing pending text. Previously saved lists stay intact and playable; re-saving requires explicitly shortening or removing names longer than 15 characters. Previously saved titles up to 60 characters stay playable; saving a new revision requires a title of at most 30 characters. Plus is required to create or play; saved themes remain viewable, editable and deletable after expiry. A started round finishes normally, then the next round checks access. The Host keeps the complete list locally in a protected, backup-excluded file. The approved Guest receives only the title and usual recipient-specific gameplay over the encrypted connection, and never saves the library. Both devices need the updated app version.
Two supported devices nearby
Use compatible iPhones or iPads with the same updated version of the app, Local Network permission and the same Wi-Fi network. The app website lists the current system requirements. Keep the app open on both devices. Gameplay needs no internet, but guest or managed networks that isolate devices or block local discovery may prevent a connection.
Romanian, with the catalogue included
The native interface and game content are Romanian. iPhone play uses portrait orientation; iPad supports portrait and landscape. The included catalogue is bundled with the app; saved custom themes are authored on the Host’s device. The Plus update includes Animals, Food and Objects and transport free; Secret Subject + unlocks the other categories and every included theme. No content download is required.
Optional Secret Subject +
The Plus update includes 339 free identities across 10 themes in Animals, Food and Objects and transport. Secret Subject + unlocks all 11 bundled categories, 26 themes and 800 included identities, plus Temele mele for saved custom themes. Only the Host needs a subscription: the guest plays the Host’s selection without a second purchase, and a guest’s subscription does not upgrade a free Host. The game remains exactly two players. Romanian plans are 9.99 RON / week or 99.99 RON / year, billed in full annually with identical benefits. Choose a plan or continue free. The subscription renews automatically until cancelled and applies only to Secret Subject. Apple displays the actual price and duration before confirmation. Restore, native subscription management, Privacy, website Terms and Apple’s Standard EULA are accessible from the app. Purchase and restore may need internet. Earlier Plus updates were delivered to internal TestFlight testing; the curated catalogue belongs to the next candidate; public App Store availability remains a separate release step.
Free play, with session data kept in memory
There are no app accounts or ads. Apple handles optional subscription purchases separately from local gameplay. Player names, assigned answers and scores stay in the participating devices’ session memory and are not sent to an app server or retained for future games. The host’s chosen name is visible to devices browsing this app’s service on the local network. After a game is selected, both players’ names are sent over the encrypted connection before approval. Game data is sent only after both players approve. Temporary identities and approvals stay in memory. Website visits and support messages have separate privacy information.
A few useful answers.
Can several people play on one phone?
Secret Subject is designed for exactly two players, each with a compatible device. It has no shared-phone mode, teams or spectators. Both players take part in giving clues and guessing.
Do I need to hold the phone against my forehead?
No. Read the other player’s identity on your own screen and give clues aloud. Your own identity stays hidden until results. Choices and confirmation use on-screen controls, with no tilt gestures.
Does the score survive closing the app?
The running score belongs to the current session. Continuing rounds or changing themes preserves it, but a new game resets it and the session is lost when the app terminates. There is no account history or online leaderboard.