Is UMIAQS a valid word?

UMIAQS is the plural of UMIAQ, an open Inuit boat made of skins, also spelled UMIAK. It is a good play for a rack with too many vowels: U, I and A all go along with the Q, an M and an S. When UMIAQ is already on the board, adding the S makes UMIAQS and scores the Q again. Picture a boat full of vowels paddling the Q to safety. Picture a big open boat crossing an arctic bay, loaded with gear for the summer camp. The open design let paddlers carry heavy loads that a closed kayak could not. Many arctic communities have revived the craft of building them.

Before any bonus squares: U 1 + M 3 + I 1 + A 1 + Q 10 + 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 UMIAQS is worth 37 before any word bonus.

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

These use exactly the letters of UMIAQS:

UMIAQS is the plural of UMIAQ, the Inuit skin boat. Three vowels, an M, the Q and an S.

• Q without U

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