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October 31, 2014 VOLU M E 1 3 | I SS UE 49
CentennialCitizen.net A R A P A H O E C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
A publication of
Littleton Schools look at security Superintendent aims to include variety of voices in new committee By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@colorado communitymedia.com
The Matas Family, from left, Veronica, 19, Conrad, 14, Elisa and Todd (co-owners) opened the Clue Room in Centennial the first week of September. The Clue Room is Denver’s first live escape game, despite the concept’s growth in popularity in other major U.S. cities and countries around the world. Courtesy photo
Venue offers ways to get a clue Visitors play escape game at Centennial business By Christy Steadman csteadman@colorado communitymedia.com
Internet-based escape games have been popular online for more than a decade, but people who visit the Clue Room, a new entertainment business in Centennial, enjoy the experience live. “People really love roleplaying,” said Todd Mata, who owns the Clue Room with his wife Elisa. “This challenges your brain, and you have a good time doing it. It’s about getting into a role and solving problems.” To play the game, a team of two to eight people deciphers clues by solving puzzles, riddles and codes. The goal is to collect a key and escape the room within 60 minutes. People playing the game are encouraged to “tear the room apart,” so they can thoroughly inspect all props that may lead to a clue. “It’s not like going to someone’s house,” Todd Mata said. “You can move things, open things and take things down.” Part of the idea is to create a team-building activity, Elisa Mata added. “It’s something that families, co-workers and friends can do together,” she said. “It’s something where you can interact with each other.” At the Clue Room, 7600 E. Arapahoe Road, Suite 211, two missions are offered. Each has its own original backstory, conceptualized by Todd Mata, along with tasks to accomplish. Inspiration for the Clue Room’s backstories and tasks come from movies, TV shows,
Two weeks after the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office released its report on the Arapahoe High School shooting, Littleton Public Schools Superintendent Scott Murphy announced that he is creating a committee to take a close look at the district’s security and ways to ensure the physical, mental and Murphy emotional well-being of its students. “Two students lost their lives that day, and nothing I can do or say can change that,” he told the school board on Oct. 23. “But we can move forward. … All of us seek answers to the `why’ questions. It’s possible we may never know. Mental health is complex.” He plans to include students, parents, teachers, law enforcement and community members in an effort to identify gaps that might exist in current systems. “We want to shape this district based on the people who elect the board and the people who we serve, what they want,” he said. Murphy is asking for an interim report from the committee in March 2015 and a final report in June, which will be his last month with the district. He announced his retirement the day before the sheriff’s report came out, saying he intended to do so earlier Security continues on Page 10
At the Clue Room, participants, in teams of two to six people, are assigned a mission. They are encouraged to think outside of the box in order to decipher clues and solve puzzles to retrieve a key and escape a room within 60 minutes. Photo by Christy Steadman books and role-playing games. “Anything with a mystery concept to it,” Todd Mata said. The two escape games will be changed every six months, and eventually, higher degrees of challenge will be offered. The games offered at the Clue Room are not scary, Elisa Mata said, and there are no live actors that people interact with because the Matas believe it would take away from the critical thinking aspect. “Things are not as they appear in the Clue Room,” Elisa Mata said. “(But) it’s not like a haunted house. It’s an activity to use your wits.” The Matas had their first experience with a live escape game in Spain when the family traveled to Europe last summer during one of Todd Mata’s business trips. Their two teenage children were with them, so they wanted to find an activity the entire
‘People really love role-playing. This challenges your brain, and you have a good time doing it. It’s about getting into a role and solving problems.’ Todd Mata family would enjoy, they said, and TripAdvisor kept suggesting live escape games. “It was the coolest thing we’d ever done,” Todd Mata said, adding that the teens and adults had fun working together as team members. Once the Mata family returned home, they discovered that live escape games are gaining popularity internationally and in most major U.S. cities, but there was not
one in the Denver area. “It’s still a pretty new form of entertainment,” Todd Mata said. The Clue Room opened the first week of September. For more information, visit www. theclueroom.com. “Any team with a bit of creativity, good ideas and logical thinking can escape the Clue Room,” Todd Mata said. “Be sure to always think outside of the box.”
Arapahoe Road project raising ire of residents Widening work in east Centennial slated to begin in early 2015 By Christy Steadman csteadman@colorado communitymedia.com
Owners of property adjacent to a widening project on Arapahoe Road scheduled for early 2015 do not contest that the work needs to be done. Many do, however, remain of the opinion that not all safety issues were addressed in the planning of the project. About 1.5 miles of Arapahoe Road in east Centennial, between Waco Street and Himalaya Way, is in need of widening in order to provide safer driving conditions. The corridor is significantly congested, according to city engineers, causing unsafe driving conditions and limiting access for emergency responders. At a recent city council meeting, homeowners presented council with a request Road continues on Page 10