Retrospectively, Meretzky has called Hodj 'n' Podj a career turning point that led him toward casual game development, and an inspiration for his subsequent work with WorldWinner and Playdom.

[1] It is set in a fairy tale world, in the kingdom of Po-Poree, whose twin princesses Mish and Mosh have been kidnapped by the villainous Salmagundi.

[3] After spending several years as a contractor for Legend Entertainment, designer Steve Meretzky started the company Boffo Games with two of his friends in 1994.

[5] Discussions about this venture had begun in 1993, but the final decision was made after Media Vision,[6] an American electronics manufacturer, offered the group a lucrative multi-game contract in January 1994.

The simplicity of Hodj 'n' Podj made it viable in this timeframe, in part because its segmented structure allowed numerous programmers to develop different sections of the game simultaneously.

[5] Meretzky later noted that other companies beat him to reviving these games in the years between Hodj 'n' Podj's conception and release, and saw success without using any overarching structures.

They discovered that an unexpected number of female players, families and non-gamers reacted with praise toward the game, compared to Meretzky's past projects.

[5] Media Vision filed for bankruptcy in July,[13] but Boffo was able to proceed with Hodj 'n' Podj during the publisher's dissolution because much of its funding had come as a down payment.

[7] Ultimately, the bankruptcy estate opted to give Boffo enough money to complete the game and then liquidate the final product, as this would be more profitable than canceling it mid-development.

[5][15] The United States bankruptcy court overseeing Media Vision's case delayed the final sale of Hodj 'n' Podj to December.

[14][7] Dornbrook explained that Virgin had pushed its release back from January to avoid a conflict with the launch of its game The 11th Hour, which was ultimately delayed.

"[8] Ann M. Marcus of Electronic Entertainment summarized Hodj 'n' Podj as "charming", and considered it an "exquisitely illustrated, hilariously funny medieval romp".

"[2] The reviewer for Next Generation wrote that it "won't appeal to those hungry for action", but that it was ideal "for laid back fun on a rainy afternoon.

"[16] In Entertainment Weekly, Bob Strauss summarized, "This impeccable British production is one of those rare CD-ROMs that can be enjoyed by both kids and adults—and its simple menu-driven interface guarantees that you'll keep it on your hard drive long after your other software has vanished.

[18] While working at Playdom on the role-playing game Sorority Life, he took direct inspiration from Hodj 'n' Podj's implementation of minigames into an overarching structure.

Sorority Life was a success, which Meretzky saw as proof that Hodj 'n' Podj's commercial failure was caused by marketing and distribution factors rather than design flaws.