Sure things are always in short supply at the New York International Fringe Festival, which kicks off its 10th edition Friday. Oddball concepts, glitzy talent, quirky titles, prestigious out-of-town theater troupes — all have led, in past years, to a few diamonds and plenty of rough. With each show scheduled for just six performances, including a few in difficult time slots, the drumbeat of attention for a particular gem often becomes audible only as the festival winds down.

This year, the organizers, who have scheduled more than 200 shows, came up with a canny way to celebrate the festival’s 10th anniversary, while boosting their batting average: They’ve tossed in a few ringers. Ten hits from past years have been invited back, and, while you won’t find such illustrious alumni as “Urinetown” or “Matt & Ben” among them, several festival hits have enjoyed post-Fringe runs in New York and elsewhere.

But isn’t the unknown part of the joy? Who wants to give up that “I was there at the beginning” Fringe memory that every New York theater buff seems to have? Still, with the quality of the Festival so historically hit-and-miss, it would be ungenerous not to flag these tried-and-true offerings. (I haven’t seen all of them, but I can vouch for the ones I have.) So I’ve paired up returning favorites with some of this year’s new blood.Whether you want to revisit one of your old favorites or prefer to support new work on principle, the first-timers and their corollaries listed below should provide plenty of options.

“24 Is 10: The Best of the 24 Hour Plays”: Back in the Festival’s initial year, its organizers put together no fewer than 10 separate evenings, each in the space of 24 hours. Writing, casting, staging, designing — it all got done in a day.Since then, the number of 24-hour plays has grown to over 300, including works by David Lindsay-Abaire, Elizabeth Meriwether, and Will Eno. These three and 22 others will be shown this year, and more attention-deficit delights are promised at “Neon Mirage,” a new assemblage of short works about life in Las Vegas. The company behind “Neon Mirage,” the Actors Theatre of Lousiville’s Apprentice Company, stumbled pretty badly last year with a show of patriotism-themed playlets.But its new work boasts a strong lineup of playwrights, including Lisa Kron, whose “Well” reached Broadway last season, and Tracey Scott Wilson, author of the underrated racism-in-journalism drama “The Story.”

“Americana Absurdum”: This pair of plays also debuted in the inaugural Fringe Festival, putting its creators, the Present Company, on the map. (The Present Company actually created the festival in 1997 after realizing that taking “Americana Absurdum” to Scotland’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival would cost the equivalent of the company’s annual operating budget.) If caustic dips into surrealism are your thing, check out “The October Sapphire,” which features a Mexican puppet and a lisping male nurse named Sholto. It was a hit in Australia.

“The Bicycle Men”: The Fringe has carved out a niche for oddball combinations of physical theater and straightforward narrative, and this fish-out-of-water musical comedy stands out as one of its most successful examples. If it doesn’t satisfy your itch for two-wheeled entertainment, pedal over to “58! A Comedy About Bike Messengering.”Presented under the aegis of Chicago’s Second City, it promises the hardest-hitting look at those shoulder-bag-clad crusaders since that movie with Jami Gertz and Kevin Bacon. (No songs, though.)

“The Complete Lost Works of Samuel Beckett as Found in an Envelope (Partially Burned) in a Dustbin in Paris Labeled: ‘Never To Be Performed. Never. Ever. EVER! Or I’ll Sue! I’LL SUE FROM THE GRAVE!!!'”: For some reasons, plays with really long titles also get a lot of attention, even though the lengths often stand in inverse proportion to the play’s actual merits.But this one was a riot, even (or maybe, especially) for those who don’t like Beckett. Rather than pick another megasyllabic title, I’ve got higher hopes for “The Deepest Play Ever,”which offers a similarly iconoclastic take on Bertolt Brecht. If you can’t snag a ticket for “Mother Courage”in Central Park, this may make a good backup plan.

“Minimum Wage: Blue Code Ringo”: Certain political topics pop up in clusters, and this 2002 musical will enjoy its share of anti-corporate brethren this year. Two other plays in particular have taken on the role of David to everyone’s favorite “big-box” Goliath. “Walmartopia” and “The Saints of Festus” both square off against Wal-Mart, which was last seen sniffing around a location in Queens. And, like “Minimum Wage,” “Walmartopia” does its agitating in song!

“Never Swim Alone”: Like “Americana Absurdum,” this dark comedy by Fringe regular Daniel MacIvor, about two competitive pals and the woman (literally) between them, has enjoyed at least one post-Fringe mounting in New York. So you might prefer “Diving Normal,” about an edgy, sexy love triangle, by Ashlin Halfnight, whose “God’s Waiting Room”won a Fringe award for Outstanding Play last year.

“Pith!”: Not many Fringe shows qualify as “sweet,” but this Canadian charmer definitely makes the cut. It’s a captivating bit of story theater, as a natty young fabulist takes a beautiful widow on all sorts of globe-trotting adventures without ever leaving her drawing room.Its minor-key delights will be hard to replicate, but a possible contender is “How 2 Men Got On in the World,” a fantastical riff on the Brothers Grimm and their fanciful, oft-cribbed tales, based in part on letters the brothers wrote each other.

“The Pumpkin Pie Show: La Petite Mortes”: This show (a mix of spoken-word and music) has made no fewer than three previous appearances at the Fringe Festival. And the organizers clearly can’t get enough of it. For more of this sort of thing, consider “Griot: He Who Speaks the Sweet Word,” which bills itself as a “hip-hop choreopoematic play” that also smashes together various performance styles.

“Todd Robbins’ Carnival Knowledge”: If you haven’t seen Robbins work his sideshow magic before, you’re in for a treat. He did a mass séance at last year’s Fringe, and now he returns with his disquisition/demonstration of freak-show entertainment, which enjoyed an extended off-off-Broadway run in 2003-04. For more adventures in carny theatre, two new solo shows stand out: “Billy the Mime,” one of the funniest people in the star-studded 2005 film “The Aristocrats”(which is saying something); and “Thought Prints,” by a telepath/postal worker (and Robbins associate) named Torkova.

“Tuesdays & Sundays”: Looking for something else fanciful, philosophical, and sad? Ideally something that also clocks in at an hour or less (with running times an undeniable factor after four or five Fringe shows in a day)? Consider the solo show “The Day the Universe Came Closer,” which appears to have a similar vibe. As an added bonus, both are from Canada.

Hungry for more? “Reservoir Bitches,” “I Coulda Been a Kennedy,””Band Geeks,” “Permanent Whole Life,” “The Fartiste,” “Blue Balls,” and the Dawn Powell musical “A Time to Be Born” all sound promising. It’s a lot to take in, I know, and quality is still a huge toss-up. But who knows? If you miss these or the other inevitable under-the-radar hits, maybe you’ll get another chance in 2016 when some are revived in triumph for the 20th-anniversary Fringe Festival.

Managing the Fringe’s Mishmash

The list can be daunting, but don’t be discouraged. The Fringe Festival can be a lot more manageable if you follow a few tips:

1. ASK AROUND. Most shows generate lines before audiences are allowed in. Ask people around you what they’ve seen and liked. Or, if you’re shy, just snoop in on everyone else’s conversations. People at the Fringe tend to talk almost exclusively about the Fringe, and you can learn a lot. Note: Fringe Central (27 Mercer Street), a clearinghouse for all things Fringe, has a lot of useful information, including how to score free tickets by volunteering. But most of the people there are involved with one show or another, so they may not be the best sources.

2. GO ONLINE. Web sites like talkinbroadway.com’s “All That Chat”feature a lot of minireviews, although weeding out the “shills” can be tricky. Tip: If someone is touting just one show, be wary.If someone has seen a batch and has a mix of opinions, pay attention.

3. GO EARLY. Not early that day, but early in the festival.As a rule, the third (and final) weekend is mobbed but the first weekend is sparse. Beat the rush, and then you can generate your own buzz when people ask you what you’ve seen. (See first tip.) Weekday shows are also fairly easy to get into, especially during the day.

4. BUNDLE UP. This does NOT refer to clothing – way too many Fringe venues have insufficient air-conditioning or none at all. Rather, two locations are showing Fringe work in multiple spaces: the Players Theatre on MacDougal Street and, with three different spaces, the Henry Street Settlement on Grand Street. If you get to either of these early and pay attention to running times, you can pack a lot of theater into not a lot of time.