From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Board game
Ants in the Pants
is a
game
designed by
Marvin Glass and Associates
, who sold the rights
[1]
to
William H. Schaper
, and was originally produced in 1969 by Schaper's company
Schaper Toys
. In 1986 it was purchased by
Hasbro
, which still manufactures and markets the game.
[2]
[3]
The name refers to an
idiomatic
expression in English
which asserts that nervous, fidgety people must have "
ants
in their
pants
." The English word "
antsy
" (meaning nervous) also derives from this
metaphor
.
Game play
[
edit
]
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 to spring as many of your 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
[
edit
]
This game appeared in the
South Park
episode "
Damien
", in which
Cartman
receives the game as a gift instead of the toy he wanted, and throws a tantrum.
[4]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Kelly, Dan (October 22, 2022).
"Interview: Making Fun?Jeffrey Breslow's 30+ Years of Toy and Game Making"
.
Third Coast Review
.
- ^
Coopee, Todd (April 15, 2019).
"Ants in the Pants"
.
ToyTales.ca
. Retrieved
January 28,
2022
.
- ^
"Hasbro has Cooties, but doesn't seem to mind"
.
The Chicago Sun-Times
. September 26, 1986. Archived from
the original
on October 22, 2012
. Retrieved
November 1,
2008
.
- ^
Trey Parker
,
Matt Stone
(2003).
South Park: The Complete First Season: "Damien"
(CD).
Comedy Central
.
External links
[
edit
]
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- 1
Licensed or not originally published by MB
- 2
Only in the United States and Canada
|