Is QIBLAS a valid word?

QIBLAS is the plural of QIBLA, the direction of Mecca that Muslims face to pray (also spelled KIBLA and KIBLAH). If QIBLA is on the board, an S on the end makes QIBLAS and counts the Q again. Many players remember the word by building it from QI: Q and I first, then B, L, A and S. It is a six-tile play that clears a Q, a B and an S together. Many prayer apps and mosque walls show the qibla with an arrow or a niche called a mihrab. Travelers once found the qibla with the sun and the stars, long before compasses. Every mosque is built so that worshippers can face the qibla together.

Before any bonus squares: Q 10 + I 1 + B 3 + L 1 + A 1 + S 1 = 17. On a double-word square that's 34, on a triple-word 51, and every letter bonus under one of these tiles is applied first.

Later in the game, put the Q on a 3L square and QIBLAS is worth 37 before any word bonus.

Swap any one letter of QIBLAS and these are still words:

No other word in the list uses exactly the letters Q, I, B, L, A and S.

QIBLAS is the plural of QIBLA, the direction of Mecca. Build it from QI: QI, then B, L, A and S.

• Q without U

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