<s>
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
is	O
a	O
1995	O
computer	O
board	O
game	O
and	O
minigame	O
compilation	O
developed	O
by	O
Boffo	O
Games	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Media	O
Vision	O
and	O
Virgin	O
Interactive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
designed	O
by	O
Steve	O
Meretzky	O
,	O
previously	O
known	O
for	O
adventure	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
The	B-Application
Hitchhiker	I-Application
's	I-Application
Guide	I-Application
to	I-Application
the	I-Application
Galaxy	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
features	O
19	O
minigames	O
based	O
on	O
peg	O
solitaire	O
,	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
,	O
Battleship	O
and	O
other	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Meretzky	O
conceived	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
in	O
the	O
late	O
1980s	O
,	O
as	O
a	O
way	O
to	O
revive	O
simpler	O
games	O
that	O
had	O
become	O
hard	O
to	O
obtain	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
development	O
,	O
Boffo	O
discovered	O
that	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
appealed	O
to	O
a	O
wider	O
demographic	O
than	O
Meretzky	O
's	O
past	O
work	O
,	O
and	O
Meretzky	O
has	O
since	O
cited	O
it	O
as	O
an	O
early	O
casual	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Selling	O
40,000	O
to	O
50,000	O
units	O
,	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
was	O
commercially	O
unsuccessful	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Retrospectively	O
,	O
Meretzky	O
has	O
called	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
a	O
career	O
turning	O
point	O
that	O
led	O
him	O
toward	O
casual	O
game	O
development	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
inspiration	O
for	O
his	O
subsequent	O
work	O
with	O
WorldWinner	B-Application
and	O
Playdom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2009	O
,	O
he	O
reported	O
that	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
continued	O
to	O
receive	O
as	O
many	O
fan	O
letters	O
as	O
all	O
of	O
his	O
other	O
games	O
combined	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
is	O
a	O
computer	O
board	O
game	O
and	O
minigame	O
compilation	O
for	O
one	O
to	O
two	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
include	O
Battlefish	O
,	O
inspired	O
by	O
Battleship	O
;	O
Pack	O
Rat	O
,	O
inspired	O
by	O
Pac-Man	B-Application
;	O
Garfunkel	O
,	O
inspired	O
by	O
Simon	B-Application
;	O
and	O
a	O
peg	O
solitaire	O
game	O
called	O
Peggleboz	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
became	O
Boffo	O
's	O
first	O
project	O
under	O
Media	O
Vision	O
,	O
which	O
acted	O
as	O
its	O
publisher	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
the	O
highest-budget	O
production	O
of	O
Meretzky	O
's	O
career	O
at	O
that	O
time	O
(	O
later	O
surpassed	O
by	O
The	B-Application
Space	I-Application
Bar	I-Application
)	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
project	O
on	O
which	O
he	O
acted	O
only	O
as	O
a	O
designer	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
as	O
a	O
designer	O
and	O
programmer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Boffo	O
co-founder	O
Mike	O
Dornbrook	O
,	O
the	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
concept	O
was	O
chosen	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
meet	O
a	O
difficult	O
deadline	O
proposed	O
by	O
Media	O
Vision	O
,	O
which	O
wanted	O
Boffo	O
's	O
first	O
title	O
finished	O
by	O
August	O
1994	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
simplicity	O
of	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
made	O
it	O
viable	O
in	O
this	O
timeframe	O
,	O
in	O
part	O
because	O
its	O
segmented	O
structure	O
allowed	O
numerous	O
programmers	O
to	O
develop	O
different	O
sections	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
simultaneously	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
closure	O
of	O
his	O
employer	O
Infocom	O
,	O
Meretzky	O
had	O
conceived	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
in	O
summer	O
1989	O
,	O
five	O
or	O
more	O
years	O
before	O
the	O
project	O
began	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Meretzky	O
later	O
noted	O
that	O
other	O
companies	O
beat	O
him	O
to	O
reviving	O
these	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
years	O
between	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podjs	I-Application
conception	O
and	O
release	O
,	O
and	O
saw	O
success	O
without	O
using	O
any	O
overarching	O
structures	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
production	O
of	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
progressed	O
,	O
the	O
team	O
"	O
began	O
to	O
suspect	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
going	O
to	O
appeal	O
to	O
a	O
very	O
different	O
gaming	O
audience	O
"	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
Meretzky	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
has	O
retrospectively	O
called	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
an	O
example	O
of	O
a	O
casual	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Media	O
Vision	O
filed	O
for	O
bankruptcy	O
in	O
July	O
,	O
but	O
Boffo	O
was	O
able	O
to	O
proceed	O
with	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
during	O
the	O
publisher	O
's	O
dissolution	O
because	O
much	O
of	O
its	O
funding	O
had	O
come	O
as	O
a	O
down	O
payment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
bids	O
from	O
companies	O
such	O
as	O
BMG	O
Interactive	O
and	O
Ocean	O
Software	O
,	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
was	O
purchased	O
at	O
auction	O
by	O
Virgin	O
Interactive	O
,	O
alongside	O
the	O
titles	O
The	B-Application
Daedalus	I-Application
Encounter	I-Application
and	O
Rivers	O
of	O
Dawn	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
United	O
States	O
bankruptcy	O
court	O
overseeing	O
Media	O
Vision	O
's	O
case	O
delayed	O
the	O
final	O
sale	O
of	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
to	O
December	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
ultimately	O
debuted	O
in	O
March	O
1995	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dornbrook	O
explained	O
that	O
Virgin	O
had	O
pushed	O
its	O
release	O
back	O
from	O
January	O
to	O
avoid	O
a	O
conflict	O
with	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
its	O
game	O
The	B-Application
11th	I-Application
Hour	I-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
ultimately	O
delayed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
other	O
games	O
of	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
was	O
sold	O
through	O
traditional	O
retail	O
channels	O
,	O
which	O
Meretzky	O
later	O
believed	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
mistake	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
sold	O
between	O
40,000	O
and	O
50,000	O
copies	O
,	O
which	O
Meretzky	O
later	O
called	O
"	O
a	O
disappointing	O
number	O
even	O
in	O
the	O
much	O
smaller	O
games	O
market	O
of	O
the	O
time.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
2009	O
,	O
he	O
still	O
received	O
as	O
many	O
fan	O
letters	O
about	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
as	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
his	O
games	O
put	O
together	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
said	O
in	O
2005	O
that	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
was	O
his	O
only	O
game	O
that	O
he	O
could	O
play	O
for	O
enjoyment	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
he	O
continued	O
to	O
"	O
play	O
 [ it ] 	O
with	O
my	O
kids	O
every	O
now	O
and	O
then.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Ann	O
M	O
.	O
Marcus	O
of	O
Electronic	O
Entertainment	O
summarized	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
as	O
"	O
charming	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
considered	O
it	O
an	O
"	O
exquisitely	O
illustrated	O
,	O
hilariously	O
funny	O
medieval	O
romp	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
he	O
argued	O
that	O
players	O
who	O
"	O
accept	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
in	O
the	O
spirit	O
in	O
which	O
it	O
is	O
offered	O
"	O
will	O
derive	O
"	O
considerable	O
delight	O
in	O
playing	O
it	O
—	O
especially	O
if	O
you	O
have	O
kids.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	O
Gaming	O
Worlds	O
Charles	O
Ardai	O
found	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
use	O
of	O
traditional	O
games	O
"	O
downright	O
baffling	O
"	O
,	O
given	O
their	O
presence	O
in	O
past	O
compilations	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
in	O
Sam	B-Application
&	I-Application
Max	I-Application
:	I-Application
Hit	I-Application
the	I-Application
Road	I-Application
and	O
the	O
Dr.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
sequel	O
to	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
was	O
commissioned	O
by	O
Virgin	O
Interactive	O
before	O
the	O
first	O
game	O
's	O
release	O
,	O
and	O
development	O
began	O
in	O
late	O
1994	O
,	O
funded	O
by	O
Boffo	O
Games	O
 '	O
earlier	O
payment	O
from	O
Media	O
Vision	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2000	O
,	O
Steve	O
Meretzky	O
joined	O
WorldWinner	B-Application
as	O
a	O
game	O
designer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
the	O
draws	O
of	O
the	O
job	O
,	O
in	O
his	O
view	O
,	O
was	O
that	O
it	O
allowed	O
him	O
to	O
create	O
games	O
"	O
very	O
reminiscent	O
of	O
the	O
kind	O
of	O
games	O
in	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podj	I-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
working	O
at	O
Playdom	O
on	O
the	O
role-playing	O
game	O
Sorority	O
Life	O
,	O
he	O
took	O
direct	O
inspiration	O
from	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podjs	I-Application
implementation	O
of	O
minigames	O
into	O
an	O
overarching	O
structure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sorority	O
Life	O
was	O
a	O
success	O
,	O
which	O
Meretzky	O
saw	O
as	O
proof	O
that	O
Hodj	B-Application
'	I-Application
n	I-Application
 '	I-Application
Podjs	I-Application
commercial	O
failure	O
was	O
caused	O
by	O
marketing	O
and	O
distribution	O
factors	O
rather	O
than	O
design	O
flaws	O
.	O
</s>
