The fundamental pieces involved in
Ants in the Pants are a free-standing pair of miniature, usually plastic, pants; and several plastic ants. The ants are
color coded - each
player uses one color of ants - and designed so that pressing the tail stores
elastic potential energy. When the tail is pressed and released, the ants spring into the air. The
object of
Ants in the Pants is for the players to spring as many of their ants as possible into the pants. Some versions of
Ants in the Pants include characters who "wear" the pants. These (usually
cardboard) cutouts depict the character, and also serve as
backboards to deflect the ants into the pants.
Plastic suspenders (or
braces) are another common element, which serve as obstacles. == Pop culture ==