"Getting it to at least run BASIC" is a common theme with DIY enthusiasts. Why is that?

It's traditional:) The original machines with simpler hardware largely converged to BASIC, so it's a nice benchmark for "is this a Real Computer™"

	▲	reaperducer 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Hardware didn't really play a factor. Every machine ran BASIC. If your machine didn't, it was weird. For a while it seemed like BASIC was going to become the universal computer language. IBM even produced a computer that had both AP/L and BASIC built-in.

pigeons 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

A lot of machines based on this CPU booted a ROM that ran a BASIC. It seems more of a challenge than running a Forth.