The tableau is two fields for the shore and the ocean. You control the shore cards with its titular candles and cannons. Starting with one lit candle you swap cards up to three times before cannons fire. To light a candle you swap it with a lit one and each lit candle lights up the same square on the ocean grid. You can also the other cards with each other, wherever a lit candle goes the relevant square lights up and stays lit.
After three swaps cannons next to lit candles fire, landing on the same spots on the ocean grid, revealing any hitherto face-down cards. If it hits a pirate the cannon cards on it must be equal or greater to score, if it hits a piece of treasure it must be lower than the treasure or both sink to the discard pile.
After firing cannons a candle is relit then the other lit candles burn out. Grids are refilled when possible but the game only ends if it's impossible to relight a candle. Points are given for shot pirated and salvaged treasure and points are deducted for any sunken(discarded) treasure and any cards left on the ocean grid.
Make the most of the information available as you will have to take risks with what your cannons shoot. The game penalizes for missed cards as much as wrong hits so just having something to hit is better than leaving too many ocean cards at the end of the game.
The two types of targets still play differently enough even if in any case hitting a card in one shot is better. You will have to fire at unknown cards so it's worth making the most of what you do know, candles can only show so much.
Ending the game is rather arbitrary and the late game doesn't have a sense of cleaning up as one might expect.
