I can't get 5 skulls in Orcs Must die on Chaos Chamber, Tower & Stream maps (nightmare difficulty)

I don’t get it. I am beating the maps and none of the orcs are getting through to the rift. So why do I keep getting 4 skulls instead of 5?

Is there some other way skulls are measured out? Am I supposed to only use certain traps, or something?

There’s a time limit for each level. Even if you kill all the orcs, you can still lose a skull if you aren’t fast enough.

Check your stats. There’s a “Par Time” that you have to meet or beat. To do that, try to focus on those few stragglers that delay the start of the next wave. I often let the traps kill them to get the extra few coins, but I have to shoot them myself on a few maps.
Also, archers are freakin’ great on Stream. Line those walls, and set up a bunch of them right in front of the gate. You can make a really great kill zone with a Coinforge, too. Snipe those flyers that your archers take forever to kill.