The players are ants building an anthill. They have to finish the anthill before Anthony the anteater reaches them, because only then the ants are safe from Anthony's long trunk. To build the anthill, the players have to find twigs on the back of the path cards. These twigs have to be collected and brought to the anthill, but this only works if a continuous line of ants leads up to them.
It's a cooperative game, but the rulebook contains a competition variation as well.