Are you as obsessed with Alice in Wonderland as almost everyone else in the world seems to be? Check the best video games based on Lewis Carroll’s masterpiece.

Alice in Wonderland, the 1865 novel written by Carroll, is one of the most culturally significant works of the last two centuries and continues to have a significant influence to this day.

Alice in Wonderland’s cultural significance means it is often referenced in video games, and there are also plenty of titles that have been based entirely on Lewis Carroll’s masterpiece; we take a look at the three best.

From near-constant references to “through the looking glass” in books, Hollywood films and video games to subtle hints about a trip to Wonderland when a character begins to lose consciousness or is drugged, like in Far Cry 3, Alice in Wonderland’s influence can be found almost anywhere.

In the famous Elder Scrolls series of games, for example, there is a dungeon called Sheogorath, which is the chaotic wonderland of Daedric Prince of Madness where madness takes hold of the mind, and the final boss is eerily reminiscent of Alice herself (pictured above).

The influence can even be seen in the iGaming industry, where a slot game inspired by the story and characters called Court of Hearts can be found among the best new slots from Play n Go.

Aside from the books, films and games that have references to Alice, there are also plenty of video games based entirely on Lewis Carroll’s story. As with anything that is this popular and has had so many renditions, some are better than others.

Alice in Wonderland (2010) is an action-adventure video game published by Disney Interactive Studios and was released in conjunction with Tim Burton’s film of the same name. It came out in the same week as the film and was released for the Wii, Windows PC and Zeebo. There was also a version released for Nintendo DS, but it was a completely different game from the rest.

One of the big drawcards for this game is the fact that most of the actor’s who played the big roles in Tim Burton’s film reprised their roles for the video game as well, including Mia Wasikowska as Alice Kingsleigh, Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat, Barbara Windsor as Mallymkun the Dormouse and Michael Sheen as the White Rabbit.

In terms of gameplay experience, the title does not push the boat out too far and tends to stick with tried and tested loops rather than taking any risks. While this might not sound ideal, it means the gameplay is fun and engaging while allowing the creators to focus on the creativity and wackiness that should accompany any Alice in Wonderland title.

Alice: Madness Returns is a darker spin on the much-loved story and is more of a psychological horror game than a classic action platformer that most Alice fans would be familiar with. However, its unique take on the adventure into Wonderland is a breath of fresh air that helps propel the title to the top of the list of video games based on Carroll’s story.

In this game, Alice is suffering from the emotional trauma of losing her family in a fire and decides to return to Wonderland to try to find out exactly what happened and try to get over her grief. What she finds is a corrupted Wonderland and a deeper and darker story than anyone could have expected.

Unlike most other Wonderland-inspired games, Madness Returns allows the user to find a small arsenal of weaponry to help them through the twisted adventure. All of the weapons come in the form of seemingly mundane items, such as a decorated kitchen knife, which is a theme throughout the game as many of the enemies that need to be defeated are also normally benign regular household items.

The game was designed by American McGee and published by Electronic Arts in 2011. It remains one of the most unique and engaging renditions of the Alice in Wonderland story ever created.

The final title also happens to be the first-ever video game based on Carroll’s story and one of the earliest video games published for the Mac platform. It was called Through the Looking Glass, was developed by Steve Capps and published by Apple in 1984. The game was so popular and so crucial to the Alice series and Apple that it was re-released in 2009 for iOS mobile phones as part of the 25th anniversary of Mac’s release.

Even though it was the original Alice in Wonderland game, it is very different from most others in that it is a game of strategy rather than adventure. The player takes the role of Alice on a makeshift chessboard and has to capture the computer player’s piece while avoiding capture herself. To increase the difficulty as the game progresses, Alice’s movement becomes more limited, and the computer is allowed to move more pieces in the same turn.

If you are put off by bad graphics in games, this title probably isn’t for you. It was made 36 years ago, after all. However, if you can get past the looks, the gameplay loop is fun, engaging, and genuinely challenging to provide a great all-around game.