Outer limits: It's another weird and wacky line-up at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe

With more than 31,000 performers in 2,088 shows, getting noticed at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe is never going to be easy. For those artists descending on the Scottish capital, it follows that the stranger your act, the more likely you are to be heard above the babel voices that turn this city into the scene of Europe's most vibrant festival each summer.

Not that former participants have been exactly reluctant to explore the zanier side of their art. After all, this is the festival where in 2003, comedian Alfie Joey ensured a sell-out show each night by turning his red Ford Escort into a mobile venue, and where last year a Portaloo was the setting for one of the Fringe's more affecting pieces of drama.

Preparations for this year's three-week extravaganza took a hit when Fringe organisers had to defuse reports of a split after major venues launched their own comedy festivals. And on the first day of tickets going online, a computer crash saw sales suspended. But this hasn't stopped the artists themselves cranking up the imaginative stakes.

According to Duncan Fraser, the event's marketing manager: "The festival has its usual ridiculous, weird and out-of-the-box shows every year. That is the beauty of an open arts festival – any performer can bring any act here, providing they can find somewhere to perform, no matter how ridiculous or zany it is. It is all part of letting people know that there really are no rules."

Scavengers

Billed as the ultimate treasure hunt, teams are given nine hours to solve 100 clues as they race across the city. Their end goal? To exhibit their findings at creator Joshua Sofaer's end-of-Fringe exhibition or to pick up a £2,000 prize.

City Art Centre (07790 235963), 16 August

Edinburgh-on-Sea

Comic Liz Bentley will host a "pool of talent" at the Grassmarket pool, including John Hegley and Luke Wright.

Apex Hotel (0870 241 0136), 31 July to 24 August, not 11

Death By Chocolate

Like Cluedo sponsored by Cadbury, this show won a Melbourne Fringe award in 2007. It gives the audience a chance to solve a murder mystery – and gorge on a selection of sweeties.

Zoo Southside (0131-662 6892), 1 to 24 August, not 4, 5, 11, 12, 18 & 19

A day with Doug

Many shows offer an intimate audience experience – although that can be down to the reluctance of the crowd to turn up. American comic Doug Stanhope is taking the concept to a new level, however. He is proposing a one-night-only show staged for the amusement of a single fan. The lucky punter must be willing to pay £7,349 (£1 off for concessions), which entitles them to a full day in the great man's company. The ticket price, says Stanhope, equals the amount a comedian can expect to lose while playing one of the Fringe's big four venues.

Venue to be confirmed (0131-226 0000), 23 August

Mark Olver: Ramble on

For many comedians, the road to Edinburgh is an arduous one. Few, however, will be as exhausting as that trodden by Mark Olver, who is walking to this year's festival from his native Bristol. The comic is raising money for the hospice movement and will be performing at venues along the 410-mile route, relying on the generosity of strangers to feed and house him.

Underbelly, Cowgate (0844 545 8252), 31 July to 24 August, not 20

Office Party

Not for those with a fear of joining in, Cal McCrystal's Office Party proved a hit when it was premiered at the Barbican in London last Christmas. Audience members or "guests" are divided into groups, encouraged to sing and party at this mocked-up corporate knees-up.

Udderbelly's Pasture (0844 545 8252), 2 to 25 August

Jim Rose Circus

Back after a decade following a row over insurance premiums, this freak show has showcased the notorious "genital lift" and stars such as the Torture King and the all-consuming human Slug. Rose, now joined by The Donkey Show's Randy Weiner, and it is promising a another slew of outrageous and stomach-churning new antics.

Udderbelly's Pasture (0844 545 8252), 31 July to 25 August

Silent Disco

The phenomenon taking the summer by storm returns to Edinburgh, where it was one of last year's hits. Dancers don headphones, then flail extravagantly and sing along badly to a selection of disco, rave and lounge music.

Udderbelly's Pasture (0844 545 8252), 8 to 17 August

The Comedy Pub Crawl

If you really can't be bothered leaving the pub to take in a show, this offers something of a halfway house. Different stand-up comics promise to take their audience on a rib-cracking guided tour of the city's top hostelries.

Begins at Laughing Horse @ Espionage (0131-477 7007), 5 to 23 August

Enclosure 44 – Humans

For those who think the city resembles a human zoo during the festival, why not check out the real thing? Janis Claxton's dance company will be the caged attractions at the zoo, offering a glimpse of the beast that lurks within us all.

Edinburgh Zoo (0131-314 0350), 5 to 16 August, not 11

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe runs from 3 August to 25 August (www.edfringe.com)

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