The Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island was a low-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Los Angeles, California. It was operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice until the US Government sold it to the McLaren Corporation in 2018
Now Called Penitentiary Island, the facility is located at the entrance to Los Angeles Harbor, between San Pedro and Long Beach.
Pleas read the Concise History of the Island within the Car Wars timeline.
Zen’s Guide to Chassis & Crossbows is helpful for a more authentic PIA game
Owen MP’s Guide to Chassis & Crossbows is HIGHLY reccommended
History:
The prison was opened at the southern end of Terminal Island, adjacent to a Coast Guard base, on June 1, 1938, with 610 male, and 40 female prisoners. It consisted of a central quadrangle surrounded by three cell blocks and cost $2 million to construct. In 1942, the U.S. Navy took control of the prison for use as a receiving station and later as a barracks for court-martialed prisoners. The facility was deactivated by the Navy in 1950 and later turned over to the state of California for use as a medical and psychiatric institution.
The state returned control to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons in 1955 for conversion into a low-to-medium security federal prison. The prison was mixed-sex, with female prisoners housed separately, until 1977, when overcrowding led to the transfer of the women to the federal prison in Dublin, California. The prison was given increased barbed wire and armed guards in the early 1980s in an effort to dispel the facility’s “Club Fed” image. A corruption scandal rocked the prison in the early 1980s, resulting in the indictment of six employees on charges of bribes, cover-ups, marijuana sales to inmates, and other corruption. Those indicted included Charles DeSordi, the prison’s chief investigator of crimes, the highest-ranking federal prison official ever to be indicted.
After the sale of the prison in 2018 to the McLaren Corporation, the women were moved off the island to a different facility and the male inmates are forced to fight each for various gladiatorial combat shows produced by Terminal Island Productions and the McLaren Corporation. The Death Race was instituted in 2026 as Autodueling gained popularity as a spectator sport. (Chassis and Crossbows rules ADQ Vol 1 #3 for early years of the Death Race. Regular Car Wars rules from 2032 onward).
To date only three prisoners have won their freedom from the facility. “Frankenstein” was the first. The man known as Vulcan Stev (So called for his weapon of choice and the fact that in his first race he got the ‘E’ knocked out of him) and Mick the Man from DownUnder were the second and third. Vulcan Stev’s navigator/gunner is the ONLY woman to officially survive and win five races with her driver. They got married and “retired” to Iowa.
Rumors of prisoner trafficking, snatch gangs grabbing young up-and-coming duelists and illegal cloning to keep the supply of cannon fodder.. er available prisoners at minimum race levels have never been proven. (Ref Notes Of course all three are going on. As a general rule to keep a field of nine for each race run “Illegal Clones” are used to fill out the field. A scenario might even include your players bring kidnapped the first time).
Race Description:
Each race is run over the course of three stages of three laps each. Starting position for Stage One is determined by random draw. Lap One of each stage is an actual race with no weapons activated. The Ref/Warden decides at random when to activate the Sword & Shield buttons at some point AFTER the leader has crossed the Start/Finish Line to start Lap Two. Lap Three is when the Death Heads activates, usually when the Leader crosses the Start/Finish line to start Lap Three. Any wrecks are left on the track until the end of the race. Drivers can keep going so long as their vehicle is still mobile. Finishing order determines the starting position for Stage Two.
Stage Two is identical to Stage One except any drivers killed in Stage One are obviously not included in Stage Two. Assume the cars have been fully repaired of any damage incurred in Stage One. Finishing order determines starting position for Stage Three.
Stage Three is identical to Stage Two but there is usually a surprise such as the edition of the Dreadnaught Tanker from the film.
NOTE Unlike NASCAR or Indy racing The Death Race starts from a Dead Stop. See #13 Start /Finish Line for line-up rules.
Arena Description
Please note that the Penitentiary Island Arena is based off of the 2008 Jason Statham film and its sequels. The map is based off of schematic of the Island as seen in an early scene of the film. It is NOT to scale for the film but rather has been interpreted for ease of play-ability on a table-top. Any inconsistencies with the film are either deliberate choices made to accommodate the re-scaling or to enhance play-ability
Sword and Shield Activators – All Vehicles start the race with all offensives and defensive weapons disabled. The leader has to complete one lap before these activators are lit (Please see Map Key for placement). There are five sword and five shield activators placed around the track. *NOTE* Ref place the counter down when the button is ready and remove the counter as soon as driver has activated it * Shield buttons activate defensive weapons and Sword buttons activate offensive weapons. The Driver MUST hit the button with all four tires. Once a Driver has activated his (or her) weapons system running over a second Sword or Shield button will only turn it off, leaving it inaccessible to other drivers. The Ref can decide when and how many times per race the buttons are turned on. All Sword buttons activate at the same time and all Shield buttons activate at the same time. But Sword and Shield do not necessarily activate together.
Death Head Activators – There are four Death Head buttons located on the track. These operate similarly to the Sword & Shield buttons in that they do not activate during the first lap and all four tires of the driver’s car must run over the button to activate it. However, these operate at random and independently of each other. If one activates the other three MAY stay off or activate (REF’s decision).
What they do is activate the Death’s Head. The Death’s Head pops up the first round of the second full turn after it has been activated. (So if Driver A activates the Death’s Head on Phase 5 of Turn 4, The Death’s Head pops up on Phase 1 of Turn 6). The Death’s Head is a 7′ x 15′ (game scale .5″ x 1″) hydraulic press. If a vehicle is on top of the Death’s Head when it deploys, it is a D12 maneuver, the vehicle is flipped (forward if rear tires over and backwards if front tires are over the Death’s head at the time of the flip) and continues following the rules of the crash table. Once deployed, the Death’s Head is an immovable 7′ tall, concave wall with embedded spikes until hit. *Ref determines if the collision is head-on or sideswipe* Spikes do an immediate 3D6 (+3 points damage to metal armor since the spikes are sharpened and pointed) for every 10 mph of collision damage to the affected area of the colliding vehicle. Collision damage is calculated after spike damage and has a damage modifier of 9. If hit head-on the vehicle comes to a dead stop. If the occupants are still alive they have a chance to escape as the Death’s Head retracts by 1′ every turn doing 5 D6 crushing damage every turn.
The Island
Penitentiary Island is accessible from the mainland by one of two methods, either you can drive over via a narrow 1.5 lane bridge or by boat. The Island is completely surrounded by a 30′ (25 DP) tall concrete wall (NOTE Wall will open a breach per breach rules but never completely collapse) with barbed wire at the top. Locked and barricaded gates are at both ends of the bridge. Access from the dock is through the wall via a locked and guarded tunnel. Most buildings are kept locked. Unless otherwise noted a determined individual can (depending on lock-picking skill) gain access to other buildings.
1: Bleeker Tunnel (25 DP)
A reinforced Building used exclusively as a race short-cut and protection from the Guard Death Towers. The disadvantage to using the tunnel is the maneuver at high speed necessary to enter and exit. Vehicular Weapons Fire as at a +1 inside the tunnel to any vehicle in front of or behind the attacker. The interior walls are concrete covered steel girders. Side-swipe damage is 2D6 and a D1 Hazard. Any contact with a wall as a result of a maneuver (ie blown tire, spikes a/o mines, or substantial weapons damage) is an additional D3 maneuver.
2: Guard Death Towers (6 DP)
Each Death Tower is manned by three guards. Each carrying either a Grenade Launcher, Bazooka, or Heavy AVR. No more than one of each weapon in each tower. (Ref Note Guards are at least +2 Gunners) Towers are 30′ tall (so take distance modifiers into account). A Prisoner whose vehicle has been destroyed will be targeted by the guards until shot and killed. Guard Towers are manned 24/7 /365 regardless. In addition to the hand weapons carried by each guard, each tower is equipped with 2 HVMGs on Pintle Mounts manually fired by Guards. The Gaurd can use either his hand weapon or mounted HVMG not both.
3: Bridge Entry
The Island is connected to the Main Land by 3/4 mile bridge. The Bridge is secured on the main land side by a guarded and gated entry point. The Entire bridge is surrounded by chain-link barb wire fencing. The fencing does NOT provide cover for any weapons fire but would require 45 minutes and an appropriate cutting tool for a prisoner to try and escape by cutting the wire.
3A The Guard House (10 DP)
The building is usually staffed by a team of four day to day and ten on days new prisoners are being shipped in. The guards have a wide array of hand-held weapons. Basically the if it’s hand-held weapon it’s in the armory. The building is also protected by twin VMGs in turrets.
3B Entry Gate Tunnel (25 DP)
4: Main Holding Facility
The Main Holding Facility is surrounded by the same 30′ wall that surrounds the rest of the Island. At the four corners are guard towers (1). Guard towers allow access for the guards to walk across the wall all around the Island. During the race, the gate (20 DP token is on the Sword/Shield/Death Head counter sheet) is shut and locked. Should a prisoner escape the Main Prison or Secondary Cells, the alarms will sound, the gate will close and all other buildings will go on lock down as soon as the escape is discovered.
4A Main Prison (25 DP)
Each cell is 25 DP walls with locked Metal barred (15 DP) doors. The central are on the ground floor is the common room/dining hall. The central area on the second floor is the warden’s office / CCTV monitoring room. The entrance contains the Guard Room, Weapons Locker, and in-processing.
4B Secondary Cells (25 DP)
Each cell is 25 DP walls with locked Metal barred (15 DP) doors.
4C Kitchen / Laundry (20 DP)
4D Administrative Buildings (20 DP)
4E Maintenance (20 DP)
4F Storage (20 DP)
5: Random Office / Storage Buildings (6 DP)
Buildings are locked and mostly empty during the Death Race. Buildings with Garage Doors have been known to hide surprise late race entries driven by guards. There is a cross walk 12′ off the ground between Building 5A and 5B. Guards have been known to watch the race from the cross walk and occasionally snipe at the prisoners.
6: TV Production Studio (10 DP)
State of the Art Television studio. Connects to cameras located along every section of track, in the pits and common areas of the prison. The Death Race is broadcast from this building. During the race you will find the Warden in here.
7: Mystery Repair Shop (15 DP Metal Building)
The warden is building (CLASSIFIED) for use during the (REDACTED). Access to this facility requires a key-card and fingerprint.
(Ref Notes most likely something similar to the Dreadnought Tractor Trailer seen in the movie).
8: Infirmary / Cloning Facility (25 DP)
Injured Prisoners are brought here IF they survive the race. Prisoners will regain 1 hit / day. Every prisoner who has been incarcerated on the Island has clone info on file (DNA and skill sets only no memories). The Infirmary is protected by the waste water treatment pond, a 25′ earthen berm with scrapped vehicles buried within and on top, and a 2: Guard Death Tower.
9: Misc. Storage (15 DP Metal Building)
Each stall is kept locked and secured. Doors are 15 DP metal as well. Stalls are big enough to store cars to be readied for combat. Is that what is stored here? Only the Ref/Warden knows for sure.
10: Metal Shipping Containers (25 DP metal armor)
Each metal shipping container is 40′ x 8′ x 8.5′ and are stack two tall and used as wall for the track. On the bottom layer each is filled with concrete and weighs 102 tons. Any collisions should be treated as running into an immovable object.
11: Dock Facilities
The tunnel (25 DP) is actually built into the wall. Gates are kept locked and secured unless a boat is making a delivery or pickup. The Dock Master Building (10 DP) is manned 24 / 7 by a three man team of Guards with +3 Dock Master skill set.
12: Mystery Repair Shop (15 DP Metal Building)
The warden is building (CLASSIFIED) for use during the (REDACTED). Access to this facility requires a key-card and fingerprint.
(Ref Notes most likely something similar to the Dreadnought Tractor Trailer seen in the movie).
13 Start / Finish Line
Each race’s starting line-up gets to place their vehicle at the line. The #1 vehicle MUST be within the checkered box. #2 must have the front edge of their vehicle .25″ behind the line of the #1 vehicle and at least .25″ away from any other vehicle. Then #3, #4, etc. until all nine (or the number of racers) have been placed. Race starts from a dead stop. All Vehicles at Speed 0. The Lead vehicle MUST cross the start / finish to finish the race. (ie the leader cannot be in The Shortcut at the end of lap 3 to count is winning the race). The vehicle may be coasting to a stop or rolling and on fire but so long as the driver survives and the vehicle is the first to enter the checkered
14: Tuning Shop / The Pits (15 DP Metal Building)
Nine Identical pits. Each separated by a 10 DP wall. Each Driver and crew (usually 4 prisoners total) can work on anything mechanical on their vehicle in their shop. Assume the job can be done unless it is impossible to fix. The shops are open during the day except during meal times and recreational time. At night the shops are supposed to be locked up tight. In the middle of each pit is an oil change pit for underside repairs. No Ammunition is stored in this building. Prisoners who are members of the driver’s pit crews will watch the race from here.
15: The Short Cut
Technically part of the same building as 14, 16, an 17, The short cut is an open path that bypasses 2 Death’s Heads, The Start / Finish Line, 2 Shields and 1 Sword. The Short Cut is just wide enough for one vehicle and bordered 10 DP Girder supports for the building. Sideswiping the girder supports as D1 hazard and causes 1 D6 damage for every 10 mph of speed. Beware the twin 90 degree turns to exit the shortcut
16: The Dreadnaught Pit (15 DP Metal Building)
The Dreadnaught is a Tractor Trailer combo bristling with weapons. This pit can handle any truck related repairs. The driver, gunner crew and mechanical crew, are they guards? Mercenaries? Volunteers? Secret prisoners kept separate from the racer/crew population? Only the Ref / Warden knows for sure.
17: Abandoned Portion of the 14-17 Complex (15 DP Metal Building)
Largely empty, this portion of the building is kept as part of the track because it A: provides an interesting dynamic to the race is the form of obstacles and racing conditions, and B: it was not deemed cost-effective to tear down for the race course.
18: Armory / Vehicle Prep / Warehouse (15 DP Metal Building)
This building is where all ammunition and replacement weapons are stored. After each race vehicles are brought to this warehouse and stripped of all ammo before being driven over to the The Pits. Replacement weapons and parts are stored here as well. Weapons requested by drivers or gunners and approved by the Warden / Ref are brought here and installed on the vehicle by a weapon-smith employed by the McLaren Corporation. Any new a/o replacement vehicles are brought to this facility and checked over thoroughly to make sure no contraband is smuggled to the prisoners in the vehicles. Can the mechanics working here be bribed? Occasionally.
The Six Pits are identical to the Prisoner pits with the addition of weapon related tools and scanning equipment for locating contraband.
19: Four Unused Buildings (10 DP)
19A Unused Administrative Building – Windows are busted out. Building is no longer locked.
19B Very Skinny Building. No one is quite sure what it was originally used for. Prisoners whose vehicles have been disabled will make a for the protection of this building. Building is not locked.
19C Gladiatorial Combat Studio. This building is kept locked down and ready should the McLaren Corporation ever decide to start airing the program again. Prisoners ar NOT allowed access.
19D Open Unused Vehicle Storage. Once in the early days of The Death Race one of the drivers thought it would be good idea to take the shortcut, stop at 19D and let his Navigator/Gunner out and let her lob grenades at other drivers. Another time, two pit crews conspired against a hated rival and improvised a tire spike roll and deployed it against the rival from this building. This building is WIDE OPEN and rundown.
Movie accurate counters are available here
The first file is an uncut 21″x96″ map. We also have a gridded version available.
The next file are the counters for the activators, Death’s Head and Holding facility gate.
The next three files are gridded sectional 21″x36″ portions of the complete map.
Files are (c) 2023 Alien Graphics and are provided for your use. Compatible with Car Wars 1st – 4th Edition TM (c) Steve Jackson Games.
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Alien Graphics also offers full-sized 21″x36″ printouts of this map (and all others) and the uncut 21″x96″ full map. Contact us for info on prices and shipping..
Vulcan Stev's Database 