Within the Dune Sea, competitors gear up for the deadly games hosted by Jabba. Jabba's demolition games represented a perilous competition. These events were the brainchild of Jabba Desilijic Tiure, the notorious Hutt crime lord ruling over Tatooine. They began near the close of the Galactic Civil War. After the Galactic Empire banned podracing, depriving Jabba of a key revenue stream, he conceived an illicit demolition contest. This pitted various individuals and their customized vehicles against one another in brutal combat.
The concept for this vehicular demolition derby seemingly sparked in Jabba's mind after observing the aggressive racing style of Dug podracer Pugwis before the ban on podracing. As a token of gratitude, Jabba offered Pugwis the esteemed position of being among the first to compete in the games. Eager for recognition and desperate for opportunities after the ban, Pugwis eagerly accepted the invitation.
Boba Fett also joined the tournament's lineup. Fresh from delivering Han Solo to Jabba, he viewed it as a valuable test of his abilities. He declined the use of any vehicle, confident that his jetpack and blaster would suffice. The Jawa Warlord Wittin also entered, hoping to secure funds for a new Sandcrawler after the Empire destroyed his original one.
Later, the Alderaanian smuggler Wade Vox faced Jabba after refusing to pay the Hutt's extortion fees at the spaceport. His ship was seized, and Jabba offered him a chance to avoid execution by participating in the games. Left with no choice, Vox agreed and purchased an X-34 landspeeder from Jawas, modifying it for combat.
During this period, Jabba's guards apprehended two members of the Alliance to Restore the Republic attempting to infiltrate the Palace. These were twin sisters from Bestine IV, named Tia and Ghia, who aimed to rescue the recently captured smuggler Han Solo. Jabba compelled the sisters to participate, allowing them to adapt their stolen Snowspeeder into an all-terrain vehicle. The feared bounty hunter Aurra Sing also appeared, hunting a Force-User as part of her personal quest against all Jedi. Sensing Vox's presence, Sing entered the tournament to identify him.
The Wookiee mechanic Quagga also joined the competition willingly. Intense competition from local Jawas at Anchorhead had nearly bankrupted Quagga, and he hoped the tournament winnings would fund a new garage in Mos Eisley. Subsequently, the disgraced Imperial General Otto arrived with a stolen All Terrain Scout Transport, intending to amass a fortune and retire on Bespin in Cloud City before the Empire caught him for desertion. Jabba's own ranks contributed 2 more contestants: the skiff guard Tamtel Skreej and the rancor keeper Malakili. Skreej was actually Lando Calrissian, reinforcing his cover as part of the plan to rescue Captain Han Solo, while Malakili was ordered to include the rancor to amplify the tournament's destructive potential and increase betting among Jabba's court.
The precise outcomes of the tournament were lost, along with much of the records of Jabba's Empire, in the chaos following the Hutt's death, but certain events were verified. The Rebel twins, Tia and Ghia, survived elimination; however, instead of gaining their freedom as promised, Jabba enslaved them as his personal servants. Boba Fett was celebrated by Jabba in his throne room for his performance in the tournament, while Tamtel Skreej was punished for his poor showing by being forced to eat one of Jabba's paddy frogs before the court. General Otto was eliminated, and Jabba permitted Boba Fett to claim the bounty on his head offered by the Empire. Otto's fate remains largely unknown, but rumors persisted that Darth Vader personally oversaw his execution. Quagga earned enough credits to finance a new garage and sold his tank to a group of Jawas to live out his days in peace. Wittin's droid served him well enough that Jabba financed his acquisition of a new sand crawler, which he used to gather a new tribe. Wade Vox escaped and constructed his own red-bladed lightsaber. Sing, now aware of Vox's status as a Force-User, pursued him to kill him, but failed. Pugwis performed well initially, but had a falling out with Jabba for unknown reasons. Jabba had his guards tie Pugwis to his pod and sent it out into the Dune Sea, where Pugwis was devoured by the Sarlacc beast in the Pit of Carkoon. Malakili's performance was largely unknown; however, rumors that Jabba had the rancor killed as punishment for Malakili's failure were disproven by the fact that Pateesa, the rancor in question, was alive and well by the events of Luke Skywalker's attempt to rescue Han Solo.
Soon after, Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan arrived at the palace disguised as the Ubese bounty hunter Boushh, pretending to deliver Solo's Wookiee companion Chewbacca to the Hutt for the bounty. Jabba allowed "Boushh" to remain as a guest, and Organa used the resulting confusion to free Tia and Ghia from Jabba's throne, escorting them to a GR-75 Medium Transport waiting outside. The twins were then transported off Tatooine and returned to active service in the Rebellion. With most of the tournament's contestants dead, escaped, or otherwise unavailable, the tournament abruptly ended.